Teana's Travels Book 35: Curing the Darkness
by D.K.N
Summary: Scanning the Realms for more heroes uncovers four more sets of Pretty Cures embroiled in their own conflicts, and so the DDF sends envoys to aid and recruit them. But helping them fight their enemies won't be easy... Rated T for violence and language
1. DokiDoki 1

Finally… Finally! I found a way to watch the four seasons of _Pretty Cure_ I wanted to see without endangering my computer! …Apparently. …So far. Anyway, let's see if we can make this work.

 **THE FOLLOWING THINGS ARE THE PROPERTIES OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS; I DO NOT OWN THEM AND MAKE NO MONEY OFF OF THIS STORY**

 _Mahō Shōjo Lyrical Nanoha_ (Teana, various other characters) – 7Arcs

 _Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni_ (Shion and friends/family) – 07th Expansion and Studio Deen

 _Shuffle!_ (Kaede Fuyō and associated characters) – Navel and Asread

 _Erika's New Perfume_ (Marie, Sarah, Erika, Timmy, Veronica) – DeviantArtist 'Lance the Young'

 _Mai-chan's Daily Life_ (Mai, Kizuna) – Waita Uziga

 _Star Wars_ (Ahsoka, Cody, Rex, _Force Unleashed_ cast) – George Lucas, Lucasfilm

 _Halo_ (Forerunners, UNSC, Sangheili Alliance) – Bungie, 343 Industries

 _StarCraft_ (multiple characters, events, and devices) – Blizzard Entertainment

 _Naruto_ (characters, techniques, abilities) – Masashi Kishimoto

 _Mahō Sensei Negima_ (characters, spells, abilities) – Ken Akamatsu

 _Kingdom Hearts_ (characters, weapons, enemies, concepts) – Square-Enix

 _Neon Genesis Evangelion_ (characters, concepts, tech) – Studio Gainax

 _Elfen Lied_ (Kaede K., others) – Lynn Okamoto, Arms

 _Red vs. Blue_ (The Blood-Gulch Crew, the ex-Freelancers) – Rooster Teeth

 _My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic_ – Hasbro, Lauren Faust

 _Transformers Film Series_ – Hasbro, Michael Bay

 _Transformers: Beast Wars_ – Hasbro, Mainframe Entertainment

 _Sonic the Hedgehog_ – SEGA

 _Gears of War_ – Epic Games

 _Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles_ – Columbia Tristar (I think)

 _Mass Effect_ – Bioware

 _Metroid_ – Nintendo

 _Puella Magi Madoka Magica_ – Gen Urobuchi, SHAFT

 _The Legend of Zelda_ – Nintendo

 _Tōhō_ – ZUN

 _RWBY_ – Rooster Teeth

 ** _Pretty Cure / PreCure_** **–** **Toei Animation**

 _Kill La Kill_ – Trigger

 _Cross Ange_ – Sunrise

 _Cardcaptor Sakura_ – Clamp

 _Sailor Moon_ – Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha

 _Sailor Nothing_ – used with express permission of Stefan "Twoflower" Gagne; please visit his website for _SN_ and his other original works

 _Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya_ – TYPE-MOON

 _Pokémon_ – Nintendo, GameFreak

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** ** _BOOK 35 START_** **-**

 **Realm STH-17**

"So, what's the damage? What did we lose?"

"Well, Boss, the good news is that whoever infiltrated our base, they only took one thing. The bad news is…"

"…No… Damn it, _no_! I was so close to harnessing its power! It was going to be instrumental in my next plan to take over the world! And now some interloper has stolen it?! Who would dare steal from _me_?!"

- _Break_ -

"This can't… I'm not…"

' _You're a cut above the average merc, to be sure. But against someone on my level, you're_ _ **nothing**_ _. If you want to live, then never show your face around me again._ '

A gloved fist pounded the packed earth. Its owner did not notice a new figure calmly striding up from the shadows nearby…

- ** _Break_** **-**

It was quite a pleasant surprise: scrying had discovered four more worlds with groups of Light-wielding heroes the DDF could seek the aid of… and they were all PreCure teams! Master Yen-Sid had a feeling they didn't have much time left before Xehanort & Ganondorf started their end-game plan (plus there was also Joker skulking around, Salem plotting on Remnant, and Maleficent had been awfully quiet lately…), but thankfully he & Merlin could still perform the spell that had let Gamma Team travel weeks back in time when they first went to Equestria.

And so, several DDF members got ready to set out; three were going in alone, while a full team was heading for the fourth world. With a quartet of brilliant, beautiful flashes of Light, they made their journey…

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

 **Realm PC-7**

The cheery 14-year-old girl known as Mana Aida was strolling down the street, dwelling on the things she had experienced. So much had happened since she and her friends became Pretty Cures… Recently, the quartet had gone up against 'Bel', one of the Selfish Kingdom's generals, and had received new weapons, the 'Love Heart Arrows', with which they'd sent him packing and rescued Ai-chan. Strangely, the charms that had enabled this new power had come _from_ Ai-chan; just what was she, anyway?

Mana was so distracted by her thoughts that she almost walked into someone, stumbling as she narrowly dodged an impact.

"Easy there" the other person said. "You gotta be careful not to let your head get too far up in the clouds while your feet are still movin' on the ground."

"I-I'm sorry" Mana hastily bowed in apology.

"Hey, it's cool. Don't worry 'bout it."

Mana got a good look at the person. She was an older girl, probably around 16 or 17, with kinda-messy black hair down to her upper back, except for a vibrant red streak in her bangs. Her eyes were deep blue, and seemed to have some kinda weird shape in them when the light hit them right. She was clad in a red & black sailor- _fuku_ outfit, and it looked like it had eyespots that almost seemed to be looking at her the same way the girl wearing it was. This girl had a rough, almost delinquent-like aura to her, but at the same time she had a friendly grin on her face, and her 'aura', for lack of a better term, put Mana at ease.

"U-Um… I'm Mana – Aida Mana. Please to meet you."

The older girl grinned. "Ryūko – Matoi Ryūko."

"I don't think I've seen you around before…"

"I'm kind of a traveler, passin' though, lookin' for people an' places an' things worth noting. Word has it there's been some weird happenings around here lately…"

Mana tried not to look nervous at that, knowing full well what Matoi meant. "I don't know about that…" she said with a slightly forced laugh. "Oh, I'd better get going; my friends are waiting for me. Nice meeting you, Ryūko-san!"

"Take care, kid!" Ryūko waved the girl off.

'Senketsu, is she…?'

'YEAH' the _Kamui_ -turned- _Bijū_ replied. 'YOU FELT IT TOO, HUH? THAT GIRL IS DEFINITELY ONE OF THIS WORLD'S PRETTY CURES.'

"Heh… So much for a long, troublesome search…"

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

The four girls leapt to dodge another attack from the Jikochuu they had engaged in battle, summoned by Mammo near the town's warehouse district. It was 'only' a standard Jikochuu, patterned after a 'small' construction crane, and yet the girls were having trouble doing meaningful damage to it. They were just about to break out the Love Heart Arrows when the dark monster suddenly produced a wrecking ball and swung it in a rapid arc at the quartet…

There was a flash of red, and the wrecking ball went sailing off harmlessly, its chain severed. A lone figure in black & red then casually strolled out from the nearby shadows, fingers twirling what looked like a tiny red sword keychain or something. Cure Heart stared in astonished shock.

"You oughtta be careful swingin' big things around" Ryūko said with a calm smirk. "Someone could get hurt."

Mammo chuckled. "And just who are you supposed to be?"

"A traveling fighter," the teen replied, "come to aid the legendary warriors, the Pretty Cures, against the dark forces that threaten this world. In other words…" she gave a fanged grin. "I'm the bitch who's gonna kick your ass! Ready, Senketsu?"

"Ready!" The girls were surprised to hear Ryūko's _clothes_ answer in a smooth male voice; although still a Tailed Beast sealed within Ryūko, Senketsu had (re)gained the ability to use the outfit that was once his body as a mouthpiece/avatar to communicate with others.

A flash of sparkling red light enveloped the newcomer, as the four Cures and the Selfish General sensed her power _flare_. When the light faded, Ryūko's hair had lengthened and spiked up partially, and she was clad in a spiky red & black combat outfit; Senketsu's active form was now less skimpy than it was before, covering enough of Ryūko's skin to be considered 'decent', though her midriff and her legs from mid-thigh down were still exposed.

"No way…" Cure Diamond murmured. "A transforming heroine who's _not_ a PreCure?"

Mammo gritted her teeth with a snarl. "Jikochuu! Blast this interloper!"

The construction-crane Jikochuu produced a giant nailgun and fired a barrage of oversized armor-piercing nails. In response, Ryūko weaved a couple of quick hand-seals and exhaled a _Hōsenka no Jutsu_ barrage, her projectiles canceling out the enemy's. Then, with a flash of red light she brought her Scissor Blade into its active form, taking a stance with the crimson sword and then charging. She moved with startling speed, sidestepping a few clumsy attacks thrown her way without losing pace, and when she got close she leapt and sliced the Jikochuu's nailgun in two. The monster swung its fist at her, but she grinned as she ducked under, and with a _kiai_ she struck with a powered punch that made a shockwave in the air and sent the beast skidding back on its feet, a sizable dent now in its metal body.

Ryūko moved in and dealt a barrage of punishing punches, kicks, and slashes, battering and gouging at the Jikochuu's armored body. Enraged, the monster tried to crush her, but she used its easily-dodged limb as a springboard to launch herself high into the air over it, and then wove a quick hand-seal sequence while breathing in, and then…

" _Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu_!"

The Cures got another surprise as Ryūko exhaled a _huge_ fireball down at the Jikochuu, engulfing it in a fiery explosion. She landed several meters away with a flourish, as the flames and smoke cleared to reveal a badly-damaged and burnt Jikochuu. She turned toward the Cures.

"Hey, you girls!" she shouted. "I don't have any purification techniques!"

Getting the message, Cure Heart brought out her weapon and fired a Heart Shot at the downed Jikochuu, vanquishing and purifying it. As Mammo growled and teleported out, and the freed & purified Heart flew away to find its owner, Ryūko turned to the Cures as they came up to her.

"Looks like I had good timing," she said with a smile, "right, Mana-san?"

The four Cures startled, especially Heart. "H-How did you…?"

"Senketsu & I sensed your life-force, your magical signature, when we first met you, so he & I can tell it's you. Plus, your voice and your face…"

Cure Sword went on guard, with Diamond following.

"Please, you girls, be at ease" Senketsu spoke. "We come as allies. We represent a group called the Dimensional Defense Force, composed of sovereign powers, human & alien, as well as numerous warriors of justice, united to share tech & knowledge, protect the universe, and stop the forces of evil in whatever forms they may take."

"Interesting thing," Ryūko said, "the DDF has been to several universes that have fictional counterparts in other Realms – Transformers, Halo and Mass Effect, Sonic, Sailor Moon… Oh, and it turns out that Pretty Cures are a multiversal phenomenon."

"Wait, _what_?-!" Cure Sword said.

Ryūko brought up her Omnitool and displayed the holo-screen, showing images of the HeartCatch, Suite, and Smile teams.

"These three groups have been with the DDF for a few months now," Senketsu explained, "and recently our people detected the presence of four more Cure teams, one of them being you girls. And so, a few of our people were sent to aid you girls, and ask for your aid in return."

"Your aid against whom?" Cure Rosetta asked.

"Bad guys come in all shapes & sizes" Ryūko replied. "In addition to threats that don't really spread beyond the Realms they come from, we've also had to deal with bigger, more widespread enemies. We've already dealt with the Reapers and with the rogue Xel'Naga 'Amon', but now we have reason to believe another player who's caused the DDF quite a bit of trouble might be planning something big."

"Who?" Cure Heart asked.

"An old and powerful dark mage named Xehanort, along with his 'Seekers of Darkness'."

Cure Rosetta froze up, eyes widening. "X… Xehanort…?"

"…The _Kingdom Hearts_ universe has a fictional counterpart here too, huh? Yeah, a few of our people were surprised when the Heartless and Keyblades and stuff started showin' up. And yes, we have some Keyblade-wielders, but so do our enemies. A couple months ago, Xehanort teamed up with another big-nasty, a guy called Ganondorf," (Cure Diamond's eyes went wide with shock), "and we think they and their underlings are finally gettin' ready to make their big move soon. We need all the help we can get, so we've been lookin' over the Realms, tryin' to find more warriors of the Light to help us. Imagine our surprise when we found four more PreCure teams!"

"This is… so crazy…" Cure Diamond murmured.

"…We'll help" Cure Heart spoke up. "However we can."

Ryūko smiled. "And we'll help you girls here, too. Hopefully Xehanort or Joker won't show up to cause trouble while we're at it, though…"

"Who is Joker?" Cure Sword asked.

"A former enemy of the Smile PreCures," Senketsu replied, "who once served as the second-in-command of their ultimate foe, the daemon Pierrot. Though, Pierrot was in a dormant state for most of the time, so Joker did most of the heavy lifting. Although he was killed in their final battle, he was revived later on. He initially worked for Amon for a while, only to survive his second master's death as well. Now, he is a wildcard, going about the Realms and doing what he can to make a nuisance of himself."

"Recently," Ryūko said, "the DDF went to the world of Pokémon, and while we were there Joker awakened Groudon & Kyogre in their berserk Primal Forms, just to see them cause as much chaos and destruction as possible. It coulda gotten _real_ ugly if our people hadn't been there to help contain the situation."

"I feel I must warn you girls" Senketsu spoke seriously. "In all the Realms where the Pretty Cures exist, out of all the foes these heroines of light have faced… Though he may not be the _strongest_ , Joker is the vilest, cruelest, most depraved and gleefully, sadistically evil foe any Pretty Cure team has _ever_ been up against. He delights in causing suffering and despair, more-so than any other PreCure foe in any other universe, and his power & skill enable him to do so with frightening ease. He is Pure Evil. If he comes here, and challenges you girls… you need to _run_."

The four Cures felt nervous just at the thought of it, feeling a chill.

"Well," Ryūko spoke up, "hopefully he won't show his face around here, and we can focus just on this 'Selfish Kingdom' you girls are fighting."

Cure Heart nodded. "…Wait. You said you people have been to the Pokémon world?"

Nodding, Ryūko opened a tiny subspace pocket and pulled out a pair of Pokéballs. Cure Heart's eyes sparkled, as the dark-clad girl let her recently-acquired partners out to say hello. Ryūko's Pancham struck a pose with his arms folded and a cocky grin, while her Vulpix shook a few embers out of her fur and looked up at her mistress and the newcomers with friendly curiosity. By now, all three of the Earthborn Cures were starstruck, while Cure Sword was already starting to feel the tug of 'cuteness overload' from the little red fox Pokémon staring up at her with a smile.

"Why don't we find somewhere to give each other more detailed explanations, hm?"

"Eh? O-Of course!" Cure Heart shook herself out of her daze. "Come with us back to Alice's house! …Um, but I just noticed something: your transformation doesn't really do anything to disguise your identity, does it? This might cause a bit of an issue, maybe…"

Ryūko sighed as she recalled her Pokémon. "I might have to just not hang out with you girls in your civilian forms in public, probably… Anyway, let's get movin'."

- _Break_ -

Back at the Yotsuba mansion, once Sebastian was caught up on things, Ryūko told the group a little more about her past, both before and with the DDF; the girls learned of how Ryūko had started out cold, violent, mean, and lonely, focused solely on vengeance, but over the course of her long and difficult journey had learned the value of friendship and family, compassion, patience, forgiveness, and true heroism. They were also intrigued upon learning of what Senketsu had become, what there were 11 others of amongst the DDF: the 'Tailed Beasts', beings of immense size and incalculable power, partnered with human (and one Pony) hosts to form a nigh-unstoppable team.

"I'm afraid there's not much I can teach you girls" Ryūko admitted to Mana, Rikka, Alice, and Makoto. "Our power-sets are just too different. I'll do what I can, though – maybe help you get a little stronger and faster, or teach you a couple close-combat tricks or whatnot."

"Any help at all is appreciated" Alice replied.

"So, what's our next move?"

"Unfortunately," Rikka said, "I think all we can do is wait for the enemy to make a move and then react to that. We don't have enough power or intelligence to bring this whole thing to an end. All we can do is deal with the Jikochuu as they come, and keep looking for the Trump Kingdom's princess.

Ryūko sighed. "I hate having to wait for something to happen… but, I guess there's nothing to it, is there? Alright, we'll handle things as they happen for now, and we'll keep looking for your missing princess. …Sorry you girls got such an impatient, rough-&-tumble delinquent girl as an ally instead of someone polite and proper and 'shining truth & justice' and whatnot."

Mana smiled and shook her head. "You're a courageous and kind person who tries to do the right thing, who goes out of your way to help people. I'm glad for the chance to fight alongside you."

The other girls nodded in agreement, and Ryūko smiled. "Thank you…"

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

After an incident where a small, scrawny boy with virtually zero self-confidence tried to improve himself by apprenticing to Mana, only to come up short and be made into a Jikochuu that the girls had to purify so they could then talk him through his issues, the girls ended up getting involved in some sort of 'rose lady' contest. Ryūko quickly recused herself, calling herself "as far from ladylike as you can get".

While there, though, they met a strange girl who introduced herself as 'Regina' – blonde with sky-blue eyes, wearing a red & black dress. She seemed friendly, but at the same time she acted kinda spoiled, declaring that the jewel in Mana's bow was pretty and promptly demanding it.

"Hey, you can't just ask someone to give you something that's theirs outta nowhere like that" Ryūko said with a warning tone.

"Huh?" Regina looked quite confused. "Why not…?"

'This girl… She doesn't know any better? Ah jeez, she really doesn't… Well, they say stupidity is terminal but ignorance can be cured…' "How would you feel if you had something that was important to you, and someone else asked you to just hand it over?"

"I'd be upset."

"Then how do you think others feel if _you_ do that?"

Now Regina looked even more confused, though there was also a flash of surprised guilt on her face as the message at least partially sank home. "…You're smart, _née-san_."

"It's stuff people normally learn growing up. You didn't?"

"I… I don't know… …A-Anyway, I'm gonna get going now. Bye-bye, Mana-chan, _née-san_ , other girls!"

"…What a strange girl" Senketsu remarked.

Not long after, the girls encountered someone considerably less pleasant than Regina: Reina Itsutsuboshi, an old rival of Alice, a snooty and arrogant girl with a posse of yes-men (er, yes-girls). She seemed to be trying to rile Alice up, stir up Alice's infamous violent temper that was said to come out whenever her friends were insulted, but Alice wasn't taking the bait.

"So, all five of you are competing?" she asked with a condescending tone.

"I'm not" Ryūko spoke up, glowering. "I know that I'm nowhere near 'ladylike' enough for this kinda thing. I'm no 'lady'. I'm just here to support these girls."

As the 'Rose Lady' contest ensued, Reina and her girls did everything they could to sabotage 'Team Mana' and get Alice angry, but not only did it fail, but it ended up backfiring and making Alice look _better_ , to the increasing bewilderment & frustration of Reina. …As a side note, just after the piano presentation portion of the contest, while the judges were deliberating, Ryūko fiddling around on the piano had transitioned to doing a respectable job playing one of her old favorite game tracks (the Chemical Plant Zone theme from the second Sonic game, to be precise). When the judges had asked her why she wasn't participating in the contest, she had sheepishly replied.

"I'm not ladylike at all. I'm a former delinquent, I'm rough and crude, I talk all rough and my voice is deep and scary, I'm trained to use a sword instead of a rapier or naginata or other kind of 'feminine' weapon… Plus, my mother acted ladylike in public, but she was a cruel, abusive, sadistic, evil, black-hearted witch, and I wanna be as different from _her_ as I possibly can."

"…Lots of evil people of the world's history had dogs or played chess or ate sugar or the like; that doesn't make dogs or chess or sugar evil. Just because your mother was both evil and ladylike doesn't mean being ladylike is bad."

"I know, it's just… I've got some hangups of my own, some issues I still haven't fully worked through, even with my older sister's help…"

"What about your sister?" one of Reina's posse asked.

Ryūko snorted. "Satsuki- _née_ is more at home in a military uniform than a lady's ballgown or whatever, all imposing and serious with that deep voice and that katana… Plus, she's got these _big_ , bushy eyebrows! Kinda hard to look 'ladylike' with those fuzzy caterpillars over her eyes" Ryūko chuckled.

As the Rose Lady contest progressed to the finale, a tennis match between Alice and Reina, final attempts to set Alice off failed (and got Reina's goons some bruises when Ryūko foiled their attempt to dump mud on her & the other three Cures), and Reina's frustration led her to make a mistake that cost her the match.

Unfortunately, Reina's humiliated frustration and her jealous yet lonely desire to have the same kind of supportive friends that Alice had made her a prime target for Mammo to make a Jikochuu from. The Selfish Kingdom General promptly fused with the monster to form a giant rose-themed beast, capturing Cures Heart, Diamond, and Sword, and taunting Rosetta about not being able to do anything… and then getting smacked in the face by a flying barrier.

"It's not that I _cannot_ fight offensively" Cure Rosetta explained as she took a stance. "I _choose_ not to. When I was younger, I discovered that insults to those precious to me would send me into a rage, during which I could seriously harm others. Ever since then, I… have been frightened of my own strength, of my own emotions. But… I've changed since then! My emotions are wholly under my control, thanks to the guidance of my friends! This power is to protect those who can't protect themselves! I won't be afraid of it anymore! But you _will_ be!"

The ensuing fight was over briefly, as Rosetta freed her comrades who then blasted Mammo and her monster, purifying the latter and sending the former fleeing. From the sidelines, Ryūko relaxed; she'd been ready to jump in and hack that thing apart the _second_ it looked like the girls couldn't handle it, but she figured Rosetta needed this, so she let the girl have her inner realization and her win.

After all was said and done, however, something unusual happened: when little Ai touched the golden rose that Alice won, a flash of light accompanied the rose turning red… and a small golden crystal materializing. Some examining had brought up a startling discovery; this was apparently one of five Royal Crystals, treasures of the Trump Kingdom that may be able to lead the Cures to the missing Princess Marie-Ange…

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

After that, the girls got their hands on two more Royal Crystals in fairly quick succession. The first had been relatively free of serious drama, other than Rikka's recent involvement in competitive _karuta_ becoming public knowledge. Then, however, Makoto's continued efforts to find where her lost Princess might've gone led her to get involved in an acting gig, but she started to show the strain of practicing for that, schoolwork, and her secret mid-night patrols.

When the cold and seemingly-snobbish actress Tamaki Ootori had felt that Makoto wasn't taking her job seriously and started chewing her out, the worn girl had snapped and inadvertently outed herself as one of the magical girls seen about recently, revealing how everything she'd done here on Earth – becoming an idol singer, joining the 'rose lady' contest, and now taking this acting role – had been done in her single-minded quest to find her missing Princess. And if things were turning out like this, then perhaps she should quit acting, quit being an idol, quit being Makoto Kenzaki and devote herself as the warrior Cure Sword all the time, focusing on finding Marie-Ange and nothing else. Tamaki, realizing just how much physical & emotional damage Makoto/Sword could do to herself if she chose this path, had hurriedly switched from 'lecture' to 'damage control', pointing out that if Makoto tossed away everything but her job as a warrior, she'd burn herself out and essentially kill her own spirit.

"How would your Princess feel if by the time you found her, you had reduced yourself to a cold, empty shell who knows of fighting and nothing else? Wouldn't she be heartbroken, even horrified, to learn that you'd basically frozen your own heart and wore away your soul in your quest to find her?"

When Makoto had collapsed, nearly in tears, lamenting that she didn't know what else to _do_ , Tamaki had explained that she _needed_ to let herself have a life outside of her role as Cure Sword, for her own sake. She'd convinced the girl to admit to her team about her mid-night searches (who had gently called her out on pushing herself so hard and risking her health & stability) and ask them for help, and upon recovering a little Makoto had been able to focus on her acting role, pulling it off with aplomb.

And then Regina had shown up, and revealed herself to supposedly be the daughter of King Jikochuu. She had used her father's magic to force-spawn a Jikochuu from Tamaki Ootori despite the woman not having any selfish thoughts in her at the moment, and the monster had proven so powerful that the Cures' Love Heart Arrow attacks and even Ryūko's blade strikes and flame blasts couldn't overcome it. …But then, Ai-chan had flown in and produced another new set of 'Loveads', enabling the Cure Quartet to use a group attack, the 'Lovely Force Arrow', to purify the monster.

After that, Regina had casually showed up at the girls' school, saying she wanted to be Mana's friend. What's more, Mana had accepted the offer, despite Makoto's objections. Regina had soon ended up causing trouble, trying to get Mana to do stuff with her during school hours and getting jealous of Mana's other friends. In response, Ryūko had pulled Regina aside for a while and gave her a patient but stern talking-to. Mana and the others had no idea what their older comrade told Regina, but at the end of the day the mischievous little blonde left without a fuss, even giving a rather awkward apology… and claiming that she now wanted to consider Ryūko a friend too.

Of course, Ira had then shown up and tossed a Jikochuu at the girls; so much for a peaceful day…

Now, the quintet had come to look for more clues about the missing Trump Kingdom Princess at a spacious statue garden. And who should they run into but…

"Mana-chaaan~"

"Eh? Regina? What are you doing here?"

"I wanna hang out with you and _née-san_ some more" she gestured at Ryūko with a smile. "Can I?"

Mana took a breath. "I don't have a problem with it. We're friends, after all. But… more than just me and Ryūko-san, you need to be able to get along well with Rikka and Alice and MakoPi too, okay?"

Regina looked a little down and confused, but then got a determined look. "I-I'll try! …So, what are you girls doing here, anyway?"

"U-Um…" Makoto floundered for an excuse that didn't involve the Royal Crystals. "We… came to see some of the statues!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Mana nodded. "We heard some of them are really pretty!"

"Hm? …In that case, I found a really pretty statue! Come on!"

She grabbed Mana by the hand, leading her into the garden, the others hurrying to catch up. She led them to a statue of a regal-looking royal woman, carved from white marble with a thumbnail-sized red gem set into the chest. Upon seeing it, Makoto gasped.

"That… That statue looks just like the Princess!"

"Princess Marie-Ange?" Ryūko asked. "What's a status of her doing here on Earth?"

"Hm?" Regina stared. "So this is what the Trump Kingdom Princess looks like?"

"How do you not know?" Rikka asked. "Didn't you see it when your people…"

Regina shook her head. "I actually don't have any memory of being in the assault on Trump Kingdom. …Maybe I slept through it…?"

"Is that a Royal Crystal?!" Raquel pointed at the tiny red gem, the little blue fairy gazing at it excitedly.

"It might be…" Alice mused.

Regina stared at the little gem. "You girls want that little gem? Hmm…"

She floated up, reaching for the statue with dark power shrouding her hand.

"Regina…" Ryūko said in a warning tone.

Stopping at Ryūko's voice and remembering the older girl's lectures, Regina thought for a second before focusing her power into her finger & thumb, bringing her hand in close and very carefully slipping the darkness energy between the gem and the statue's indent holding it. With a second of careful work, she gently pried the red gem out of the statue.

"Got it!" she said happily, coming back down.

She handed it to Mana, but the gem wasn't doing anything. Ai-chan touched it, but there was no response. Sighing, the lead Cure handed the gem back to her strange new friend. "You can hold onto it for now, I guess."

For the next half-hour or so, the six girls (and Senketsu) wandered around, hanging out together. As Regina gradually became a little more at-ease with them, she felt a funny feeling building in her heart. Watching Mana and the other Cures talking and laughing together, she clutched at her heart.

'I… I want…' "…that, too…"

"Huh?"

"I… I wanna be like that, too… with Mana-chan… with… _all_ of you… There's this… feeling in my chest… like my heart is throbbing… I-I don't know what…"

Mana gave the girl a warm smile. "It's because you're my friend – _our_ friend."

"…Friends? I have…?"

Mana & Ryūko nodded, and after a few seconds the other Cures did as well. A beautiful teary smile formed on Regina's face… and then the little red gem in her hand glowed brightly. Startled, she held out her hand, looking down at a newly-formed, ruby-red Royal Crystal.

"The fourth Crystal!" Charle shouted. "We found it!"

"It's so beautiful" Regina stared at it with awe.

"Right?" Mana said with a grin. "Hey, could I see it?"

"So... beau…tiful…"

"…Regina?"

"I… I w **a** nt it… I want **al** l of th **e** m…" She looked up, and her expression had changed. " _Give them to me. Now._ "

"Her eyes!" Ryūko pointed out, shocked. "They've shifted!"

The Cures quickly noticed that Ryūko was right; Regina's sky-blue eyes were now a glowing blood-red color, seething with dark power.

"Something's corrupting her" Senketsu announced. "As soon as she laid eyes on the Royal Crystal, it triggered."

" **Gi** ve me the crystals, Mana-chan. Give them to me _now_!"

"R… Regina, snap out of it! Come on! We're friends, right?!"

"Friends? …I… …The daughter of **K** ing Jikochuu has no need for 'friends'…"

Then, she flared with dark power, and the nearby sculptor working on a project a handful of meters away doubled over and collapsed as his 'Psyche' sprang forth, breaking free from his body and transforming into a massive Jikochuu of sculpting tools.

"Jikochuu! Take the crystals from them! Do whatever it takes!"

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

In the ensuing battle, Cures Diamond, Rosetta, and Sword were quickly taken out of the picture, but just as Cure Heart was about to meet the same fate, a mysterious new savior arrived: the mysterious 20-something man named 'Joe' who ran the hobby shop in Mana's neighborhood, took care of Ai-chan, and had given the three Earthborn Cures their transformation gems… now clad in fancy knight's armor and wielding a glowing sword. With his Ryūko's help, Heart managed to return her petrified friends to normal, and a Lovely Force Arrow vanquished the Jikochuu and purified its captive Heart. However, the corrupted Regina then made her escape, taking the Red Royal Crystal with her. Ryūko and Mana were especially upset; they had worked so hard to befriend Regina and show her the light, bonded with her, come to truly see her as a _friend_ , only for all that to be suddenly taken away from them…

The strange knight introduced himself as Jonathan Klondike, a surviving soldier from the fallen Trump Kingdom… and fiancé of Princess Marie-Ange. He told of how he'd been on border patrol during the attack, and had arrived too late to be of any help, only managing to discern that the Princess, his beloved, her traveled through the inter-world mirror in her chambers to this Earth, and so followed her through. He'd been searching for her ever since.

At loss as to what to do regarding Regina and the Royal Crystal she stole, the best they could do was move on and try to find the fifth crystal. Fortunately, Jonathan had an idea of where to start: a scenic countryside area dominated by an enormous field of beautiful yellow flowers, just like the ones that Marie-Ange loved back in the Trump Kingdom.

While there, the kingdom-less Knight told of how he and Marie-Ange met, bonded, and eventually fell in love, and how the failure to protect her weighed heavily on him just as it did on Makoto. Unfortunately, the calm and pretty atmosphere was broken as Regina appeared and created a train-themed Jikochuu. After a harrowing chase, Cure Heart managed to force the rampaging monster-vehicle to a halt and then open it up for a group finishing blow, while Regina had promptly retreated before they could try anything. However, the old-style steam engine that had brought them to this tranquil area produced a shining yellow light from its front emblem: the fifth and final Royal Crystal.

Not too long after, back at the hobby shop, the gang had been looking over their four Royal Crystals when Regina had appeared, still crimson-eyed and acting like her mean and bratty old self, and challenged the Cures to a 'game' for the sake of all five Crystals. Ryūko and Jonathan had been left out as the Cure Quartet was sucked into a pocket dimension, where Regina and the 'Selfish Trio' challenged them to a best-of-three series of contests. Cure Heart's earnest pleas actually seemed to briefly break through whatever dark force had a hold of Regina, but then Bel had casually undone her work, bringing the Dark King's daughter back to her cruel, red-eyed self.

The games, of course, turned out to be rigged, and as a result Team Selfish won the soccer-based first round. However, Ai-chan's magic gave Team Cure a victory in the bowling round, leading to a final game of dodgeball to decide it all. …And then, Team Selfish's inherent, well, selfishness led them to turn on each other, leaving the Cures bemused as the evil quartet bombarded each other with dodgeballs and accidentally outed themselves/each other, netting the heroines the win.

Unfortunately, whatever dark force was influencing Regina led her to break her promise to give up her Royal Crystal if the Cures won, and once everyone wound up back in the outside world, she'd taken all five… And then, the five Royal Crystals were suffused in golden light, and then shot off up into the sky, flying away off toward the distant mountains.

A rush ensued, with Alice's faithful and hyper-competent butler/assistant Sebastian ferrying the group to the mountains, close to where the Crystals' tracked signal had vanished. Making their way up the mountain, Jonathan and the five girls soon reached the spot where the Crystals' signature had vanished, only for the 'Selfish Quartet' to appear as well. After a few blows were exchanged, Cure Sword had swung a Holy Sword barrage at the ground in an attempt to kick up a snowy smokescreen, only to expose a massive ice crevasse that Regina had promptly fallen into, with Mana's attempt to save her leading to her falling in as well.

Bel had called a ceasefire, stating that anything bad happening to King Jikochuu's daughter would likely mean the heads of he & his two partners on pikes. Diamond, Rosetta, Sword, Klondike, and Ryūko had descended carefully down into the ice caves below, and thankfully had found Mana and Regina, the latter somehow back to her 'normal' self, blue-eyed and remorseful. They'd also found one hell of a surprise: Princess Marie-Ange, frozen in a giant blue crystal. Unfortunately, the Selfish Trio had then appeared, taking the crystallized Marie-Ange and Regina away with them, despite Ryūko coming within inches of taking Mammo's head off before the teleport whisked them away. Having lost so much so suddenly, the hero group dejectedly headed back to 'home base'.

It was then that the Royal Crystals had provided another miracle: floating in the air, they opened a portal between this Earth and the Trump Kingdom's world. The sextet (and their four fairy partners) made ready; it was time to save their princess and their friend…

- _Break_ -

 **Realm PC-7b**

Things were looking bad. As Diamond, Rosetta, Sword, Ryūko, and Jonathan struggled to fight their way through a small army of Jikochuu, they were forced to watch on a magic holo-screen as Cure Heart held desperately onto a giant thread of spider-silk suspended from a spider-form Jikochuu overhead, Regina hanging onto her back, and both of them dangling over a pit of lava. And the thread, unable to withstand the weight of two people, was starting to break.

"…Hey, Mana-chan? What… am I to you?"

"…You're my friend, Regina. Just like I've said before."

"When I'm with you… I feel light, and warm, and happy. The thought of you being sad or upset or injured hurts me. Seeing you smile feels like everything is good. …What is that feeling?"

"…It's love, of course."

"Love… I see… Mana… Thank you… and goodbye."

With that, a tearful smile on her face, Regina let go, choosing to sacrifice her life so that her dearest friend may live… and then Cure Heart's legs snapped out and caught her.

"Don't you _dare_ give up like this, Regina!" Cure Heart shouted to the stunned girl. "We're not dead yet! We can get outta this! If the thread breaks, we'll climb the walls! If the walls are too slick or too jagged, we'll _dig_ our way free! Don't underestimate Oogai Middle School's Student President!"

"That's… Is that… something amazing?"

"Definitely! It means that for the sake of others, I can do _anything_! I will not abandon you! I won't let you die for me! We're _both_ getting out of this alive, _no matter what!-!_ "

The warmth and determination from Cure Heart soon flowed through Regina, courage and the desire to help her precious friend eroding and breaking through the seal her 'father' had placed on her. Cure Heart gasped in shock as she suddenly took off like a rocket, Regina flying her up and out of the pit, hitting the Spider Jikochuu with a rising flying tackle that knocked it end over end in the process. The others finally arrived, and when Bel ordered the Spider Jikochuu to capture Regina, the girl effortlessly deflected the monster's attempts and sent it flying.

As the group hurried their way away from the ruined castle and back toward the portal, the infuriated King Jikochuu tried to strike his 'daughter' down for siding with the PreCures. However, there was a flash of red as Ryūko swung her Scissor Blade wreathed in crimson chakra, batting away and bisecting the incoming Dark Lightning strike. The group soon reached the portal, and as she leapt through Ryūko gave King Jikochuu a stuck-out tongue and pulled-down eyelid. The last thing they heard as they escaped was the Dark King's enraged roar.

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

In the wake of everything, Jonathan decided to take the crystal holding Princess Marie-Ange and hide it "somewhere secret". In the meantime, Regina started settling in with Mana's family, who happily accepted her and Ryūko as guests (though the latter mainly stayed at Alice's). The next day, Mana's dad took the whole gang out to the beach for a picnic and playing around, making for a whole day of fun and relaxation…

"Found you~."

Then, the girls got a very unpleasant surprise when they turned to see Ira, Mammo, and Bel right in front of them; immediately, they went on guard.

"Time to come home, Regina" Bel said. "Your 'father' is waiting for you…"

"…N-No. I'm not going back. Not with you, and not to him!"

"Just shaddup and come on already" Ira growled as he approached, reaching for her… only for Ryūko to grab his wrist and start to twist it, forcing him to back off.

"What's going on?" Mana's father asked. "Who are you people?"

"Get back, Aida-san" Ryūko told him. "These guys are bad news. Let's just say, they're enforcers of Regina's father, who is _not_ a nice person. We went to a lot of trouble to get her free of his abuses and manipulations."

"I'm not going back" Regina stepped away. "You can't make me!"

"That's where you're _wrong_ …" Bel spoke with a low growl.

The other girls took aggressive stances, standing between Regina and the Selfish Trio.

"So, you're going to make this hard?" Mammo asked. "Very well…"

She extended her palm and fired a dark energy blast at the group. Ryūko stepped forward and reached out to catch it, groaning as she was shoved back against the struggling blast before she managed to throw it upward to explode harmlessly high overhead. She was then enveloped in sparkling crimson light, emerging in her combat form. Realizing they didn't have a choice in the matter, the four Cures followed suit, and Mana's father was thoroughly shocked to see his little girl and her friends become the magical-girl warriors who'd become the talk of the town recently.

In a flash the Selfish Trio dashed in amongst the five heroines, striking before they could react; Cure Diamond was hit with a kick that sent her tumbling out across the waves, Cure Rosetta was hammered into the sand so hard it left a crater, and Cure Heart was sent flying into a rock wall with such force that the rocks shattered, burying her in dust and debris. Mammo and Bel then ducked to avoid strikes aimed at their necks by Cure Sword's chopping hand and Ryūko's blade, and the two girls were sent skidding back by the two Selfish Generals' counterstrikes.

Cure Heart was the first to recover and leap back into the fray, coming in with a magic-charged heel drop that Mammo barely avoided. A Rosetta Wall from under the sand launched Ira into the air, where he was hit from the side by an ice barrage, as the other two Cures rejoined the fight as well. Unfortunately, the trio seemed to be going all-out this time, and the girls were having trouble; Ryūko needed to be in "Tailed-Beast Chakra Stage 0.5" (meaning that whisker marks appeared on her cheeks and her eyes changed to be like Senketsu's) to avoid being beaten around and break even with them.

Pinning the girls down, Ira & Mammo fired a combined blast at them. Cure Rosetta formed a shield to block the strike… and thus was left wide open as Bel fired an energy wave at the girls from above & behind. However, Regina finally made her choice and stepped in, firing her own beam of magical power to stop Bel's. His began to overwhelm hers, but then Ryūko pitched in with a _ki_ beam of her own that forced a stalemate, holding it off long enough for Mammo & Ira's blast to fizzle out so the Cures could help handle Bel's.

The fight continued, but didn't seem to be going all that well. Suddenly, Regina fell to her knees, clutching at her chest. Then, the skies darkened, thunder rumbling, as an enormous black & red figure appeared, towering over the battlefield: an illusory avatar of King Jikochuu. Before anyone could react, Regina was enveloped within a huge tornado-like swirling column of Darkness, which resisted the girls' attempts to disrupt or break through.

When the Darkness dissipated, Regina was standing hunched over, the red parts of her outfit turned a deep, dull purple, a shadowy aura clinging to her. She looked up, to reveal a dead look on her face, her eyes turned red with black sclera.

"No…" Ryūko growled. "Damnit, _no_!"

"R… Regi…na…?" Cure Heart murmured.

Regina slowly raised a hand, crackling with dark energy, and then fired a _massive_ wave of black & purple energy at the quintet. Quickly, Ryūko wreathed her Scissor Blade in red chakra and brought it up. There was a massive bang as the attack hit, and Ryūko groaned, slowly skidding back, as it broke against her sword, splitting in two to carve two trenches at an angle around her & the Cures. When the dark energy faded, residual sparks of purple 'lightning' sporadically crackling, Ryūko was softly panting but unharmed, her nigh-indestructible blade unblemished.

"He… He poured evil energy into her to assume control of her…" Cure Sword murmured with horror.

"Such cruelty…" Cure Rosetta whimpered. "Regina-san…"

"This… This can't be happening…" Cure Heart whispered.

The corrupted Regina charged, flying in and releasing a storm of Darkness bolts. Ryūko used her sword with blurring speed to bat some of them away, while Rosetta formed a quick barrier to block more, but some of them got through, battering the girls. Regina then flash-stepped in amongst the group, stunned and unbalanced them with an all-directions shockwave pulse, and then struck with a lightning-quick barrage of devastatingly powerful blows that sent them reeling, enough to (slightly) break through their outfits' magical protections and deal actual damage.

Another blast blew the girls back, leaving the four Cures on the verge of losing their transformations. Then, Corrupted-Regina hovered overhead, lifted her hand up and quickly formed a _huge_ roiling ball of Darkness energy; Ryūko couldn't help but think of Kid Buu forming a 'small' planet-buster Death Ball. She threw it down…

"Ace Shot!-!"

Suddenly, a sparkling red blast of magic shot in and slammed into the incoming orb from below, destabilizing and dispelling it. The girls looked over at the rocks, to see a girl around Ryūko's age if not a bit older, obviously a Pretty Cure; she was clad in a white & red outfit, with long voluminous red hair topped by a glittering gold tiara.

"Who the hell is this?!" Bel shouted. " _Another_ Pretty Cure?!"

"Trump-card of love…" the young woman announced. "Cure Ace!"

She dashed in, and she & Corrupted-Regina engaged in a quick exchange of mighty blows, shockwaves in the air from the exchanged hits. They then broke off and began charging magic.

"Dark warrior of the King Selfishness," she proclaimed, "you shall be vanquished."

Cure Ace's flame wave and Regina's Darkness blast rushed out at each other, meeting in the middle. The sand beneath the meeting point was melted into glass, power thrumming, and soon Ace's attack began to overpower Regina's…

"Hold the hell up!-!"

Ryūko leapt in, using her Scissor Blade to cleave down through the midpoint, canceling out both blasts.

"What are you doing?" Cure Ace demanded, looking cross. "How are you?"

"That girl is our ally!" Ryūko angrily shouted. "We finally got her to switch sides and join our team, but then her bastard dad used his dark magic to corrupt her like this! I ain't gonna let you kill our comrade!"

"Comrade? What foolishness! There is no way a member of the Selfishness Kingdom could ever-"

"Shut it! I don't give a damn if you don't believe me; she's our _friend_! We're gonna save her! And if you try to kill her again I'll have your _neck_!"

"She's right!" Cure Heart spoke up, glaring at Ace. "I don't know who you are, but Regina is our friend! We _have_ to save her from King Jikochuu's corruption-curse!"

"But how?" Cure Diamond asked. "She's so powerful now…"

Ryūko took a deep breath. Then, the spectators were taken by surprise as she was engulfed in a blazing aura of crimson chakra that soon solidified around her, flicks of red 'flames' rising up from her, a series of black seal-like markings forming at certain points. And the onlookers, good and evil, were shocked as they felt her power _soar_.

"In… Incredible…" Cure Sword choked out. "This is the… the power of a Tailed Beast?"

"If you wanna make yourself useful, newcomer," Tailed-Beast Cloak Stage 1 Ryūko told Cure Ace, "then help the girls keep the Selfishness Trio from interfering. As for me? I'm gonna see if I can knock some sense into my little friend."

She floated up into the air via _ki_ -based flight, and then rushed at the corrupted Regina. The two met in the center with a clash of blows that sent a thunderclap-shockwave through the air, then flowed into a rapid exchange of strikes like something out of a Z-Warrior fight. The Cures _and_ the Selfish Trio were too captivated by the fight to even think of interfering, watching with shock and awe. A flame blast from Ryūko canceled out a Darkness burst from Regina, who dodged a spinning kick only to be nailed across the face by the broad side of Ryūko's blade, stunning her and leaving her open for a spiraling piledriver from 50 feet up down into the sand, kicking up a plume of dust and leaving a crater that she quickly crawled out of and charged again.

"Wake the hell up, Regina!" Ryūko shouted. "This isn't you! C'mon, kiddo, don't let yourself be that asshole's doll! Remember all I've taught you, all you've been through with us! Break free!"

For a second, Regina's dark aura wavered, and then, painfully and struggling, she spoke:

" ** _I_** _… c… ca_ _ **n't**_ _…_ "

Then the black & purple energy flared, and she charged again with a feral roar. Ryūko went on the defensive, blocking the barrage of strikes her Darkness-corrupted friend threw at her, lashing out with precise counterblows whenever she got the chance. It was clear to the onlookers that Ryūko had the edge in skill and power, but…

"Damn it… I don't… have anything that can purify her… that can save her… …Is this it? Can I really… not help her…? Senketsu… I don't know what to do…"

'I… I DON'T, EITHER. I'M SORRY, RYŪKO…'

'…No… No, this can't be right… I have to be able to do _something_!

'There has to be something, _anything_ we can do!' Cure Heart thought. 'Regina… We can't lose her like this! Please… Somebody, anybody…'

'If there's anything that can help us, anything that can let us pull this off… _Please_ …'

Both: 'We have to save her!-!'

Suddenly, a brilliant white light shot down from the heavens, traveling through time and space and Realms. An ancient, Holy power, sensing the dire need and the two heroines' earnest prayers, was now (with its prime wielder's permission) lending its power to the cause. Everyone was caught by surprise as the light shot down into Ryūko's hand that wasn't holding her Scissor Blade, forming into a weapon that she and Cure Rosetta recognized immediately.

"Sora's…"

"Keyblade…"

Even the Cures who didn't know about _Kingdom Hearts_ were still in awe as they sensed the power of Light concentrated within the weapon. Amongst the Selfish Trio…

"Hmm? What is that?" Mammo asked.

"A giant key?" Ira scoffed. "Ooh, scary…"

"Not good…" Bell said, slightly trembling. "This is _not good_! The legendary weapon of Light… You two! We can't let her use that on the King's daughter! And no matter what, _do not_ let her hit you with it! Let's go!-!"

The trio quickly charged in, ready to intervene. However, Cure Sword moved to bar their path, with Cures Diamond and Ace following suit; Sword moved to engage Ira, Diamond began trading blows with Mammo, and Ace clashed with Bel. Meanwhile, Ryūko gripped her borrowed Kingdom Keyblade and charged, rolling under corrupted-Regina's attempt to block and hammering away with a combo of blows, knocking the girl back and leaving her dark aura wavering.

The corrupted Regina growled and charged in a rage, firing a wave of Darkness blasts, but Ryūko used her Scissor Blade and Sora's Keyblade to bat them away, then fired a barrage of Light bolts that curved through the air and hammered the Darkness-possessed girl back. Now, Ryūko felt the power of Light welling up, sensed the destabilized corruption in her opponent, and knew it was time.

"Cure Heart!" she called. "Lend me some of your energy!"

Nodding, Cure Heart willed her PreCure power to Ryūko, and the Keyblade glowed with pink & white light. The crimson energy of Ryūko & Senketsu joined in, and the Kingdom Key lengthened and shifted in form, assuming its glittering, regal-looking 'Ultima' form.

"The controlling threads of darkness entwined around your Heart… I'm going to sever them!"

She charged, using the glowing blade to swat away the corrupted Regina's last desperate attempt to blast her back. She drew in close…

" _Kōton!_ " {光遁}

…and, with a flash of crimson and white, she struck with a dashing slash of awesome power:

" _SEN'I SŌSHITSU!-!-!_ " { **戦維喪失** **!** }

There was a burst of purple light, as the Darkness controlling & enveloping Regina was shredded and shattered. The purple of her dress turned red, while the black turned white, her eyes returning to their normal white and sky-blue as she softly fell to her knees in Ryūko's wake.

"I… I feel… so light…" she murmured. "My heart feels… _clean_ …" Tears came to her eyes. "I… I'm free… Mana-chan… Ryūko- _onéechan_ … saved… me…?"

" _Reginaaaaa!-!_ "

A flying tackle-hug from Cure Heart bowled Regina over, the pink-clad warrior of light crying tears of joy and holding her friend tight. Across the way, Bel growled.

"We've failed" he bit out. "Pull back for now."

He and the other two made their exit, vanishing back to their home realm. Ryūko watched as the Kingdom Keyblade dematerialized and teleported back to its true owner. "Thanks for the help…" she murmured with a smile as she watched the Light fly away.

She then joined Cures Diamond, Rosetta, and Sword in gathering around Cure Heart & Regina, celebrating that they'd done the seemingly impossible and saved their new friend's Heart. Unnoticed by them, Cure Ace gazed uncertainly at the scene from afar, and then made her exit. Mr. Aida stood off at the side, letting the girls have their moment; he didn't quite understand everything yet, but he knew something amazing and wonderful had just happened. A beautiful teary smile was on Regina's face, as she felt full of warmth and love from her friends…

 **-** ** _CHAPTER END_** **-**

Next Time: As Regina settles in with Mana and the others (while Mana has to explain things to her family), and the Selfish Kingdom plot their next move, Cure Ace continues to make herself known, but her methods and personality cause some clashes with the heroines…


	2. DokiDoki 2

**PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** ** _CHAPTER START_** **-**

 **Realm PC-7**

"…And that's basically it, up to now."

The explanation to Mana's parents and grandfather took a little while; the Cure Quartet (Mana, Rikka, Alice, Makoto), Sebastian, the four fairies, Ai, Ryūko, and the newly-purified Regina had done what they could to cover everything and make it all comprehensible. The Aida family were surprised by just how deep a mess their little girl had gotten caught up in, but there wasn't really anything that could be done at the moment, and they were amazed & proud of how much good Mana was doing.

"Senketsu and I are doing what we can to help the girls get stronger and more skilled without pushing them too hard" Ryūko said. "Still… I'm worried about this 'Cure Ace' girl."

Alice nodded. "She was ready to use lethal force against Regina, even after finding out she wasn't in control of herself; it was like she couldn't, or didn't want to, believe that a member of the 'enemy' could have a change of heart and find redemption."

"A magical girl who doesn't abide by mercy…" Mana's father mused. "That's a scary thought."

"And she was strong" Senketsu added. "Her power level was noticeably higher than these girls', perhaps even on Ryūko's level… well, Ryūko's level _without_ using my chakra, anyway."

"I didn't sense any Darkness in her" Mana admitted. "It was Light, but…"

"The forces of light can sometimes get too hardcore…" Ryūko admitted. "Like that 'Eraqus' guy from Team Sora's world 'bout 11 or 12 years back, along with probably a few other people out there… We gotta be careful."

"Still," Rikka said, "with Regina on our side now, the enemy only has three heavy hitters left."

"…Five" Regina spoke up. "There are two more Selfish Generals you girls haven't met yet. There used to be seven in all, but two of them were killed when the Trump Kingdom fell. Or so I heard."

"Who are they?" Makoto asked.

"Leva and Gula. Leva is a kinda fancy-looking man, tall and skinny, and he's known for being viciously envious of anyone he perceives as being better than him in any way. Gula is a bit brute who loves to eat; he can even eat things that aren't food."

"…The Seven Sins" Senketsu spoke up. "Lust, Envy, Greed, Gluttony, Pride, Wrath, and Sloth…"

"…Ira has a temper problem, Mammo is greedy and petty, and Bel likes to laze about and delegate until circumstances force him to get off his butt and do things. You're right. How odd…"

"Even some of their names match" Sebastian spoke up. "Mammon, the demon of greed; Leviathan, the demon of envy; Belphegor, the demon of sloth…"

"Well, whatever" Ryūko said. "In any event, we gotta keep an eye out for these two other guys, especially if their king gets fed up with the usual trio's bungling and lets the other two have a try at us…"

"Whatever comes out way," Mana said, "I'm sure we can handle it! Though… Regina, if they try to come after you again, will you be able to protect yourself? You've lost your dark powers…"

"Not entirely" the blonde grinned. She concentrated, and her shadow darkened to pitch-black and began to move and wiggle independent of her. "It seems I have some natural talent for Shadow-type magic. I just gotta train to get a good handle on it…"

"The DDF has some Shadow-users" Ryūko pointed out. "Takane from _Ala Alba_ 's Earth, and the Nara Clan from the shinobi world… I think it's about time to show you all the 'archived footage' covering everything leading up to now; maybe from watching other shadow-technique users, Regina, you can get some ideas."

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

A couple days later, the girls were helping Mana's family set up their stands at a neighborhood summer festival. It was also Makoto & Regina's first chance to enjoy such a thing, and they were definitely enjoying it; Regina, especially, had an adorably happy look on her face as Mana led her around, showing her things. Neither of them noticed a girl around 9 or 10 years old with long red-orange hair watching them with wary suspicion…

Of course, the fun didn't last forever. Two of Makoto's fans tried to get an autograph from her, but Davi (in human form as 'DB, MakoPi's manager') told them off, saying it was a private event. Unfortunately, the two fans' disappointment made them prime targets for a pair of yet-unmet Selfish Generals – Leva and Gula, going by Regina's earlier descriptions; the two of them made a pair of Jikochuu from the fans' Hearts, standing back and watching as the monsters attacked. The four Cures and Ryūko transformed as the civilians ran for safety, engaging the dark beasts in battle, but the Jikochuu pair's power and teamwork proved to be formidable.

Just when the monsters fired a combined blast of high-pressure ink and slicing giant 'paper' projectiles, a flash of red accompanied a shimmering red barrier forming in the attacks' path. When the dust faded, Cure Ace stood before them, ready to fight. She fired a sparkling flame burst at the two monsters, shoving them back but not doing much damage. The ink-Jikochuu growled and began to charge… but suddenly froze, groaning and struggling, its movements nearly frozen. Cure Ace and the others were surprised, and noticed its shadow darkened to pitch-black and extending over to…

" _Kagemane_ capture success" Regina said with a grin.

The redeemed girl slowly raised her fist, and the Jikochuu growled as it was forced to do the same. Then, she jabbed her fist at her own cheek, stopping a couple centimeters from contact, and with the Jikochuu's proportionately bigger 'hands' it was forced to sock itself in the face. She then made a leg-sweep movement, and the sign-paper Jikochuu cried out in surprise as its comrade was made to trip it.

Unfortunately, the free Jikochuu took notice of the shadow connection, and slammed its fist down into the ground, breaking the earth and disrupting Regina's _Kagemane_ link. The enraged ink-Jikochuu charged at Regina, but was blindsided as Ryūko's Pancham came in with a Brick Break to the side of the head, stunning it and giving Regina room to get out of the way. Meanwhile, a Flame Burst from Ryūko's Vulpix hit the distracted sign-Jikochuu in the face, leaving it staggering back.

Ryūko and Cure Heart went on the attack, the latter and Cure Ace double-teaming the sign-Jikochuu while Ryūko helped Regina with the ink-using one. The ink-Jikochuu fired a wave of the stuff at Ryūko, who smirked and wove hand-seals before releasing a _Ryūka no Jutsu_ ; the flames raced down the stream of dark-magic ink and engulfed the monster in an explosion that left it badly damaged, barely on its feet. Seeing a chance, Cure Ace turned and fired an Ace Shot at the Jikochuu, purifying it… and nearly catching Regina in the blast, too.

"Hey, watch it!" the blonde shouted. "What's the big idea?!"

Meanwhile, Cure Heart had managed to soften the sign-Jikochuu up enough that a Heart Shoot finished the monster off, purifying its Heart. With a disdainful snort, the observing Leva teleported out, Gula following close behind. Cure Ace made her exit soon after, only telling the Cures a vague "you must get stronger to face the challenges that lay ahead" before leaving the scene.

'That woman…' Ryūko thought, clenching her fist. 'Did she even care that she almost hit Regina, too?!'

"Everyone alright?" she asked aloud.

"A couple bumps & bruises," Cure Diamond replied, "but nothing major. Still, now it's confirmed we've got two more enemy leaders to worry about."

"And at least we know my shadow-bending magic works" Regina chimed in. "Shame the other Jikochuu figured out how to disrupt it…"

"You did good, kid" Ryūko said with a smile, petting the younger girl on the head.

"Eheheh… Thanks, _onée-chan_!"

- _Break_ -

A few days after, Makoto's budding doubts over whether her singing even mattered anymore were brought to the surface when a strategy meeting was interrupted by Cure Ace casually appearing by an open window. She had then rather bluntly pointed out that the girls weren't strong enough to take on King Jikochuu, and had then accused Makoto of not giving her all in singing _or_ in being a Pretty Cure. She had left before Ryūko could try to chew her out, but it was too late: with her doubts spurred on by Ace's words, Makoto announced that her next upcoming contest would be her last.

On the day of the concert, however, Ai-chan produced a Lovead that enabled Makoto to speak with Princess Marie-Ange, who not only told of how hearing Makoto's music gave her strength, but how she can clearly tell how much Makoto enjoys singing and how she shouldn't give up on it. Meanwhile, Leva created two Jikochuu – a microphone-themed one to handle Cures Heart, Diamond, & Rosetta, and a secondary one elsewhere to keep Ryūko & Regina busy. Just when the trio were in danger of being overcome, though, Cure Sword – her confidence restored – joined the fray, and with help from Cure Ace (using a purple variant of her Ace Shot to bind the Jikochuu in place) she vanquished the monster, driving Leva to retreat; Cure Diamond then moved to help finish off the other Jikochuu (which Ryūko & Regina had beaten but couldn't purify).

Not long after, Alice lost some faith in herself when her Rosetta Wall actually failed to withstand a Jikochuu's attack, with Cure Ace swooping in to finish the monster off before it could do too much more damage. Her butler Sebastian tried to use an artificial 'commune' (the term for the Cures' transformation tools) to aid his mistress, only for it to be stolen by Mammo, who used it to make herself look good for the people until she was exposed at an amusement park, where Cure Rosetta finally managed to overcome her hangups and bounce Mammo's attack right back at her, destroying the artificial 'commune'.

A couple days later, Rikka was wavering on whether she wanted to become a doctor or was just looking up to her mother when she made that decision long ago. But going to the beach in an attempt to clear her head led to an astonishing discovery…

- _Break_ -

"Please step aside, Hishikawa Rikka. I will not ask again."

Cure Ace had her glittering red & gold weapon pointed at Rikka, or rather at the bewildered and concerned boy Rikka was standing in front of to protect: an amnesiac Ira.

"I… I will not!" Rikka shouted.

"The _moment_ he regains his memories, he'll try to destroy you, regardless of how kind you have been to him. All those of the Selfish Kingdom are like that by nature. The only thing we can do is kill him before he remembers."

"If all Selfish Kingdom people are like that," Regina said as she took position slightly beside and in front of Rikka, "then how do you explain me?"

"…You won't fool me like you have them, dark one."

And then, everyone looked on with shocked horror as Cure Ace fired at Ira _and_ Regina. Suddenly, a crimson blade batted the energy blast up and away, and Ryūko stood there, fixing an icy glare at Cure Ace.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Mana shouted at Cure Ace. "Regina's on our side!"

"I refuse to believe that!" Cure Ace snapped at her. "Even if she tries, inevitably her inner nature will win out and turn her upon you once more. The weight of her sins is too great. I have been waiting for the chance to save you girls from the threat she poses, and I was trying to find a way to be discreet about it, but it seems that I will have to follow my duty more overtly."

"Your _duty_?" Ryūko snarled softly. She began walking toward Cure Ace, sparkling red flashes accompanying her & Senketsu assuming combat mode. "You really think murdering allies of the Pretty Cures is your 'duty'? If Regina truly was still evil, the Keyblade would've struck her down! And without his memories, Ira is _innocent_! Do you know nothing of mercy?"

"A Pretty Cure cannot afford to be merciful or 'forgiving' toward enemies" Cure Ace replied as Ryūko stood a couple meters from her. "Our responsibility is to destroy the Selfish Kingdom. That adherence and devotion to our duty, vanquishing of our enemies, is the most important quality of a Pretty Cure."

"Wrong! …The most important thing for a Pretty Cure, for a warrior of justice, for _any_ hero… is _compassion_! Protecting those who can't protect themselves, being kind and caring and considerate toward others, providing guidance to the less experienced heroes & heroines, helping the helpless, guiding the lost, stopping those with evil hearts from harming the innocent but also offering understanding, mercy, and forgiveness to those who truly wish to atone and change their ways! If you can't or won't understand that… then _you aren't fit to be a Pretty Cure!-!_ "

There was a flash of movement and a deep, echoing sound, and the others stared in utter shock. Cure Ace's beautiful face was twisted with rage, glaring hatefully at Ryūko, whose head was tilted back and to the side a little, Ace's fist still pressed to her cheek. Letting out a soft growl, she ducked low and then hammered Cure Ace in the gut with a blow that sent the red-haired warrior skidding back, doubled over. The two of them glared at each other for several seconds, bodies seething with red auras.

Then, they charged in at each other. Ryūko and Cure Ace lashed out with mighty blows that clashed against each other, little shockwaves in the air from the released force. They caught each other's fists, struggling for a few seconds, and then broke free as Cure Ace went for a leaping spinning kick aimed at the side of Ryūko's head, which Ryūko ducked to avoid and responded with a jab aimed at Cure Ace's midsection, only for Ace to grab her arm and flip herself up and out of the way. The two girls leapt back and fired flame bursts at each other, the fireballs crashing into each other in a burst of embers and smoke. Neither of them missed a beat, charging right back into melee again.

The spectators watched in frightened awe, watching and sensing the two mighty powers clashing before them. Blasts of _chi_ and magic filled the air as Ryūko and Cure Ace stepped it up a level, trying harder to overcome each other. One stray blast from Ace nearly grazed Ira, who cried out as the split-second close proximity caused a strange, hot and fluttery feeling in his chest… A heel-drop from Cure Ace created a sizable crater in the earth, but its intended target leapt clear and exhaled a fireball down at her. Ace fired a crimson heart-shaped blast up at the fireball, setting it off in a powerful explosion, and then brought her arms up to block Ryūko's attempt to come in from the side with a dashing punch. However, Ryūko used Ace's arm and upper body as leverage to flip herself up & over and nail Ace with a knee to the back of the head. Ace stumbled, but recovered in time to dodge Ryūko's follow-up strike and knock her back with a palm thrust to the midsection.

"Why do you insist so strongly on defending them?" Cure Ace asked as she struck a few blows at Ryūko's guard, to no avail. "Why would you try so hard to forgive those who do not deserve it?"

Ryūko shoved her back. "…I used to be… a cold, mean, selfish, vicious girl. I cared only about avenging my father, to hell with anything and anyone else. But… over the course of my quest for revenge and answers, I met people – good people, who showed me compassion, kindness, and patience just because they wanted to help me, and showed me how good it felt to do the same. As I fought and learned and lived, I came to understand people better. Some people who I'd fought against… I was able to forgive them, and in return they became some of my strongest allies and trusted comrades. Someone who was lost in the shadows managed to find her way out because I gave her a second chance… just as how some of those people gave _me_ another chance when I lost my way.

"Compassion… Mercy… Forgiveness… Those things turned me from an angry, mistrustful, lonely girl into who I am today, gave me people I trust, people I love, people I'd do anything for! So someone who can't accept those things… _is someone I can't stand!-!_ "

She dashed forward and landed a mighty punch to Cure Ace's face, knocking the white-clad warrior back and creating a mighty booming shockwave that blew a huge crater into the side of the riverbank wall behind her. Growling, Ace lashed out with a straight kick that nearly doubled Ryūko over, the shockwave flattening the grass behind her and sending a big splash through the water of the creek.

"These girls I've taken under my wing… Regina, who's become like a little sister to me… even our little amnesiac 'enemy' who's finally starting to see the light… I will protect them from _any_ threat, including _you!-!_ "

"If you would defend a member of the enemy's forces, then I am afraid I can never call you an ally! You can only be my foe!"

"The way you talk… _pisses me the hell off!-!_ "

"That is fine with me!-!"

The two girls roared out as they charged in, and when their blows met in the middle, a sparkling light heralded a mighty explosion of power that blew the spectators back and off their feet. Embers and shockwaves flew as the two high-level warriors brawled, but it was gradually becoming clear that Cure Ace was being pushed back, faltering in the wake of Ryūko's assault fueled by protective fury.

Overcome with frustration, Cure Ace charged fiery magical power into her hand and released it point-blank, apparently engulfing Ryūko in a sparkling explosion. But after a few seconds, the red-&-black-clad heroine came rushing out of the smoke, accompanied by the characteristic whirling sound from the compressed, chaotically-rotating sphere of chakra held in her hand, the technique Naruto had taught her, the technique Cure Ace had no room or time to avoid:

" _RASENGAN!-!_ "

The sphere of chakra was slammed into Cure Ace's midsection, grinding into her as Ryūko shoved it forward. Then, it detonated, and the concussive blast sent Ace spiraling back to slam into the riverbank wall, leaving a sizable crater. She slowly slid down, landing in a heap, weakly groaning and twitching. Red light rolled over her as her transformation came undone, revealing…

"A… A kid…?" Rikka gasped.

"She looks like she's only, like, 9 or 10 years old…" Mana murmured. "Her transformation comes with age-up magic?"

As the girl known as Aguri Madoka groaned weakly, trying to raise her head, the Mirror Lovead in Makoto's pocket flew up and out. Davi took her 'commune' form and installed it, forming into the communication mirror that floated over to in front of Aguri, who gasped weakly as Princess Marie-Ange's face appeared.

"P… Princess…" she said weakly. "I failed you…"

" _Yes, you did,_ " the princess' voice echoed, " _but not in the way you think you did. Aguri… Surely, King Jikochuu must be defeated, and those with truly wicked hearts must be stopped, but some people who are lost in the Dark can be saved. Regina is already redeemed, rejected her father's influence and come to the Light, and it may be possible for the boy to follow her path. …Your duty is important, but without compassion, love… it has no meaning. You have refused to accept that people can change, that there are shades of grey in the world, that some battles can be won without fighting. …I am sorry, but… someone who does not understand and accept compassion, forgiveness, and redemption… cannot truly be a Pretty Cure._ "

The mirror went dark again. Then, Aguri's transformation purse disintegrated into motes of red light, as the girl stared in disbelieving, despairing horror. Even though she'd just been fighting them, the other girls couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity at the look on her face…

"Found you~, PreCure!"

Startled, everyone looked up at the bridge, where a familiar massive figure stood looking down at them, grinning with a mouthful of fangs.

"Gula!" Makoto shouted, as Davi floated back over to her.

The giant man chuckled, but then looked confused as he saw the boy amongst the girls.

"Ira! Whatcha doin' down there?!"

"Eh?" the amnesiac boy looked confused and worried. "Do I… know you?"

"…Ohohh… Lost your memory somehow, huh? Well, whatever. You're a pain in the ass, so I don't care if I hit you, too!"

He opened his mouth wide, charging and firing a purple blast of Darkness energy at the gang. As they scattered, Rikka tackled Ira out of the way, not noticing that the back of his head hit the grassy ground when they landed.

"Stay back!" she told him. "We'll take care of this. Regina, keep him safe!"

Though still leery about trusting the boy, even with his memories lost, Regina did as she was told, moving over and taking position near Ira as Rikka stepped forward with the others. Then, the boy stared in awe as shining lights engulfed the girls, revealing their transformed state. He brought a hand to his head, as images flashed through his brain…

Gula leapt down, almost crushing Cure Rosetta underfoot and nearly catching Cure Sword with his shark-like jaws. He dodged magic blasts from Cures Heart and Diamond, and then leapt to the side to avoid a falling slice from Ryūko and her Scissor Blade, conjuring thick metal plates strapped to his forearms to block her follow-up swings. Ryūko's Pokémon came out to join the fray, and Vulpix fired a Flame Burst. Gula grinned and ate the fire blast… and then his face went bright-red, steam coming out of his ears, as he dropped everything and sprinted over to the river, taking in huge gulps of water to douse the burning in his mouth.

"You're gonna pay for that, you little rodent…" he growled as he wiped his mouth.

He spat out another explosive blast of dark magic, forcing the heroines to scatter again. Charging, he brought his huge fists down like hammers in a narrowly-dodged attempt to flatten Heart & Rosetta, and then when Diamond & Sword tried to kick him from behind he reached back, grabbed them by the legs and banged the girls together like cymbals, tossing them away afterward. A barrage of punches & kicks from Ryūko and her Pancham pushed him back a little, but he soon rallied and sent them flying with a wide swinging blow.

As Gula pushed the Cures back and beat them around, leaving them groaning and trying to pick themselves up, he charged and fired an extra-large blast at them. Before they could react, however, Ira stepped forward… and, with a swing of his arm, swatted the blast up and away.

"What?" Cure Diamond stared. "H-How?"

"…I… have _had_ it with you, you overgrown, arrogant walking garbage-disposal!" Ira shouted at Gula. "In fact? I've had it with _all_ of you – Bel's lazy ass and creepy shades, Mammo's focusing more on primping herself up then doing her damn job, Leva's condescending asshattery and that stupid gaudy outfit of his! That's it! I'm _done_! I don't care about the stupid King and his stupid orders anymore! I don't care about trying to beat the PreCures over and over again anymore! I am _recusing myself_ from this _whole stupid war!-!_ "

The girls (especially Aguri) were thoroughly shocked, and Gula's shock soon gave way to eerily calm anger.

"So, you turn your back on us too, Ira? Just like Regina did?"

"I'm not about to get all buddy-buddy with the Cures like she has, but yeah. I'm out; I'm washing my hands of this whole affair, gonna settle down somewhere on this crazy rock full of crazy people, and do my own thing. To hell with you people; I'm fed up with all of it."

Gula snorted. "Then step aside, and at least lemme do what I came here for."

"…Sorry, but not gonna happen. Despite everything… Cure Diamond saved my life. I owe her. I don't like owing people favors. So, before I step outta this war, the last thing I'm gonna do in it… is see that debt repaid!"

Ira flared with power, a violet aura surging like a flame around him. He then threw both arms forward, firing a sizable wave of purple energy at Gula. The massive Selfish General leapt high to dodge it, only to be nailed by a fireball from Ryūko while he was in midair. He crashed back to the ground with a thud, snarled as he got to his feet… and let out a strangled gasp as he found he couldn't move, and soon had trouble breathing.

" _Kage Kubi-Shibari no Jutsu_ " Regina announced. "Bit of trouble for me to nail this one down, but…"

"Shadow-manipulation magic, huh?" Ira gave Regina a genuinely curious and impressed look. "Sweet. But, uh, how long can ya hold him?"

With a roar, Gula burst free of the shadowy binds, charging at the gang like an angry bull.

"Not long enough, apparently! _Move!_ "

The two defectors scattered, and Gula charged right into a Rosetta Reflection that Rosetta then angled upward with perfect timing, using his momentum to launch him into the air. While he was airborne, a Heart Shoot from Cure Heart hit him dead-center ("skeet-shooting!" Ira remarked with a laugh), and when he fell he landed with an earth-shaking crash. As he got to his feet, Cure Diamond released a barrage of ice blasts, and Gula grinned and gobbled them up… and then he doubled over, clutching his head as he was given a massive brain-freeze. Furious, fed up, and freezing, he teleported out.

As the dust settled, Ira turned to see Cure Diamond standing there. He fidgeted a little.

"Um… t… thanks…" he mumbled out. "For, y'know… savin' me and all that…"

After a moment, Cure Diamond smiled. "No problem."

"…Don't look at me like that" he averted his gaze, rubbing at the back of his head and wondering why his cheeks felt hot. He then turned to Regina. "So, uh… We cool?"

Regina looked unsure for a moment, but then she sighed and held out her fist. Ira returned the gesture, a peace agreement signed by a fist-bump.

"What will you do now?" Cure Heart asked.

"Don't really know. Maybe explore, see if there's anything interesting to see… and stay the hell away from this whole mess. Maybe with me gone, the old man will have to get off his ass and _work_ more; that'll piss him off…"

"Goodbye then, Ira…" Diamond said. "It was… kinda nice while it lasted."

The boy blushed a little again. "R-Right… Maybe I'll see you girls again sometime…" he grinned "But probably not."

He made his exit, flash-stepping out.

"Man, today has been _crazy_ " Ryūko said as she stretched. "Wonder what'll happen next?"

"Well," Senketsu spoke up, the others listening, "first, I do believe we should figure out what to do about _her_ …"

He used one of his spikes to point at Aguri, who was still in shock from not only losing her Pretty Cure powers, but witnessing one of the Selfish Generals defect, recuse himself from the war, and _aid_ the other Cures before leaving. So much that she thought she knew had been turned upside-down…

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

The whole gang was gathered back at Mana's house; Raquel had suggested binding Aguri, but it was pointed out that without her Pretty Cure powers and with the emotional state she was in, that wasn't necessary.

"My name is… is Aguri – Madoka Aguri."

Ryūko sighed. "Kugimiya Madoka, Kaname Madoka, and now you, huh? 'Course, we got three 'Kaede's, too…"

The little girl glared. "Madoka is my _last_ name. I'm tired of people getting that mixed up…"

"So, who exactly are you and where did you come from?" Makoto asked.

"For some reason, my memories are kinda fuzzy, but… I was defeated by a powerful Selfish General at some point in the past, and my partner was regressed into an infant…" She pointed at Ai-chan, to the Cures' shock. "My hopes were to find the other Cures – you girls – and do what I could to get you stronger, faster, better, more able to fight and defeat our enemy… as well as assist in a grand trial that the Pretty Cures must face…"

"Grand Trial?" Mana asked.

"…It doesn't matter now. I'm not a Cure anymore; the Princess herself relieved me of my duties… I just don't know what went wrong… I thought fulfilling my duty meant defeating the enemy, nothing more. I… I never thought anyone of the Selfish Kingdom could actually reject the Darkness, let alone _two_ of them."

"Did you… not understand what compassion and forgiveness can achieve?" Alice asked. "Do you not have any friends, the kind of people you would learn those things from interacting with?"

Aguri shook her head. "All I have is my grandmother. I have not had time to 'make friends' during the course of my training, my duties…"

"Well, that explains it" Regina spoke up, startling Aguri. "Before I met Mana-chan and _onée-chan_ and the others, I was a real bad egg. You didn't have anyone to teach you that kinda important stuff like I did."

"Maybe we can fix that" Mana proclaimed, standing. "Aguri-chan, maybe we could try being your friends? And we could try to help you make other friends, too?"

Ryūko was about to say something, but images of her older sister and the 'Elite Four' flashed through her mind, and so she held her tongue.

"Eh?" Aguri looked surprised. "R-Really? But… I don't really know _how_ …"

"Isn't there a summer festival soon?" Rikka suggested.

"Eh? 'Summer festival'?" Regina looked puzzled. "What's that?"

"Oh, you two are gonna _love_ it" Mana said with a grin. 'Also,' she discreetly texted to the girls, 'maybe I can meet with Aguri-chan's classmates, see what they think of her.'

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

Aguri went home after that meeting. The next day, the girls accompanied Mana on a delivery of supplies to a kind old woman who would be hosting an outdoor tea ceremony soon… and were quite surprised to discover Aguri there as well; the old woman was her grandmother. The girls played along with keeping the old woman in the dark about what her granddaughter was… _had_ been doing, and Aguri led them out back, first to show them some of what a tea ceremony entailed and then to further out to show them a beautiful stream within the forest behind her house. She'd left them there to go help her grandmother…

…And that had been when Leva & Gula pooled their powers to create an extra-large, extra-strong Jikochuu. The mighty beast had shrugged off the girls' attempts to attack it, and then had followed Gula in making a beeline for the Madoka household.

Now, as the powerless Aguri and her grandmother huddled together, the huge Jikochuu prepared to swat them like flies…

" _Kage Shōheki!_ " {影牆壁}

A jet-black quarter-dome barrier formed, blocking the monster's strike. Aguri gasped as Regina, her identity disguised by a crude mask and magically altering her clothes' colors, stood firm in defense of her. The blonde gritted her teeth as the Jikochuu kept punching at her Shadow Barrier, which began to crack and give way, only for the Cures and Ryūko to show up just in time and push the monster back, leaving Regina to fall to her knees and let her barrier dispel, panting for breath.

"Focus, girls!" Ryūko called out to the PreCures. "Remember everything you've learned, from me and from your own experiences!"

"Right!" the four Cures chorused, shimmering auras of their respective colors surrounding them as they focused on their convictions, their courage, their compassion, their love… Cure Heart leapt onto the barbecue-themed Jikochuu's lighter arm, and tricked it into using its tong arm to snap its own lighter in two, removing one of its main weapons. Leva tried to intervene, but Cure Rosetta leapt over his slicing top-hat projectile and hit him with a drop kick to the gut that knocked him back, while a combined strike from Diamond and Sword sent Gula flying right into him.

A strike from Ryūko's Scissor Blade damaged the Jikochuu's lower legs, hindering its mobility. Then, the Cure Quartet combined their might, and a powered-up Lovely Force Arrow streaked out and crashed into the huge monster, enveloping it in pink light. When the flash faded, a purified 'Psyche' fluttered its wings and returned to its owner, as Leva & Gula – still arguing – teleported out.

As the aftermath rolled on, Aguri was still shocked that even after everything she'd done to her, Regina had actually saved her & her grandmother's life…

- _Break_ -

The next day, Aguri was on a morning run, something she'd made a habit of even though she no longer had any real reason to train; Mana was with her, just to keep her company. Unfortunately, the newly-ex-Cure ended up pushing her little body too hard, and collapsed from exhaustion and overheating. Mana had quickly called the others, with Rikka relaying instructions on how to care for the stricken Aguri until she got there.

They were aided by Eru, a shy girl who turned out to be a classmate of Aguri's. She told them of how Aguri was mature, responsible, and respected, keeping order at school without making any real enemies in the process, but also never sought to actually befriend anyone her own age. After Aguri came to, Mana had convinced her to agree to come to the summer festival with them and Eru, to the quiet new girl's delight.

That night, Aguri and Eru hung out with the Cure Quartet and Regina, the latter of whom was in exuberant delight at her first ever summer festival. Over the course of the evening, Aguri learned how good it felt to spend time with friends, how everything looked and sounded and tasted better when experienced with Eru, as well as seeing more and more proof that Regina had indeed been redeemed and 'purified'.

Unfortunately, the fun couldn't last forever, being violently interrupted by another of Leva & Gula's combo Jikochuu. As Aguri and Eru ran, the summer festival-themed monster turned out to be enough to give the heroines some trouble, it's drum-like main body bouncing their attacks back while its myriad types of projectiles bashed them around. The Jikochuu managed to ensnare the four Cures with one hula-hoop bind, and Ryūko & Regina with another, and then Leva & Gula led it into the festival grounds.

"Well, look what we have here!" Leva announced gleefully as he looked down at the two girls. "Fancy meeting you here, Former Cure Ace…"

"A… Aguri-chan? What is he talking about?"

Gula chuckled. "Oi, brat. That girl you're clinging to… She _used_ to be another of those transforming heroines. But because she didn't understand compassion and forgiveness, her powers were taken away from her!"

"I don't know why you're bothering to be with her" Leva grinned. "She's an oh-so-super-serious girl who's never given any thought to friendship, who thought of nothing but training and fighting, who responded to some of her enemies trying to defect and aid the Cures by trying to _kill_ them! She was a heartless, merciless warrior who thought only of killing the enemy… and now, she's _nothing_."

Shocked, Eru turned to Aguri, just as the girl shook with a sob. "I… I'm sorry, Eru-chan… Before, I couldn't b… be your friend because I didn't care about… about anything outside my duties… and now, I can't… because…" She looked up, tears streaming down her despairing face "because I don't _deserve_ to. I thought I was a warrior of justice, but… but I was just a loveless, heartless soldier with a heart of ice… I knew n… nothing of forgiveness, or compassion… and I don't deserve those things, either…"

There was silence. Then…

"If…. If that were still true… you wouldn't have come here… with me… I don't care what you've done, Aguri-chan. You protected me, back then… When those boys wouldn't stop teasing and bullying me about my hair… You saved me, and the words you told me gave me strength… Whatever you've done… I forgive you, Aguri-chan. Because you're my friend."

Aguri looked up at Eru, more tears building in my eyes.

"Ugh," Gula scoffed, "I just ate a lot, and you two are gonna make me throw it all up again! Jikochuu! Smash 'em into paste!"

As the huge monster swung its massive fist down at the two girls, Aguri suddenly shoved Eru back and away, pushing her to safety… and leaving herself with no way to get out in time. Eru watched in horror, seeing as the tearfully-smiling Aguri closed her eyes and braced for the end…

There was a brilliant red light, and the Jikochuu's fist was blown back, leaving it stumbling backwards and almost tipping over. Opening her eyes, Aguri was shocked as motes of light swirled around her, before coalescing into a familiar object she thought she'd never see again: the makeup purse-form magical item that was her transformation device. Realizing she'd been given a second chance, the chance to make things right, she felt filled with light, courage, and love. Eru and the enemies stared in shock as the young girl was enveloped in sparkling red light and swirling flames, magical power surging and flaring, which then parted to reveal…

"Trump card of love… Cure Ace!"

"What?!" Leva's jaw dropped. "She's _back_?!"

A shimmering red aura clung to the newly-reborn Cure Ace as she looked up at her foes with a stern glare. The Jikochuu swung again, but she calmly raised a hand and caught the blow, stopping it cold. It tried to fire a pair of giant pop-gun corks down at her, but she batted them away with lightning-fast movements of her free arm. Then, Ace leapt up and hit the super-Jikochuu in the chest with a mighty blow that sent it skyward, smacking into Leva & Gula on its way up and knocking them away. She then brought out her weapon, took aim, and…

"Ace Shot! _Fire!-!_ "

The blast of rose-red energy shot up and engulfed the Jikochuu, a flash of red & pink going off like fireworks and then fading to reveal a purified 'Psyche' which then fluttered down to reunite with its person. As Leva and Gula retreated, the rest of the gang came in.

"So you finally got your head on straight, huh?" Ryūko said.

"I understand now…" Cure Ace spoke. "The strength and warmth that can come from friendship, compassion, and forgiveness…" Turning to Ryūko and Regina, she bowed deeply. "I apologize sincerely for raising my hand against the two of you in the past. I was wrong, narrow-minded and cold-hearted…"

Regina shook her head. "You were lost, just like I was, albeit in a different way…"

"Well…" Ryūko scratched her cheek. "Considerin' you seem to have learned your lesson, and rememberin' how pathetic you looked beforehand… I guess I can't really stay too mad at ya."

"You had already decided to pardon her before this, hadn't you, Ryūko?"

"S-Shut it, Senketsu!" the older girl went red. "Read the mood I'm tryin' to set, why dontcha?!"

The others couldn't help but laugh good-naturedly. Cure Ace then dispelled her transformation, gone back to being Aguri, and when she turned she was immediately pulled close into a hug by Eru. She returned the embrace, feeling wonderful warmth in her heart.

 **-** ** _CHAPTER END_** **-**


	3. DokiDoki 3

**PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** ** _CHAPTER START_** **-**

 **Realm PC-7**

With Cure Ace now a genuine part of the team, training continued, with Ryūko & Senketsu doing what they could to help the girls broaden their skill-sets and increase their power levels. After a minor incident where Charyl, Raquel, & Lance gained the ability to transform into human forms like Davie could, it was decided that they were finally ready for the 'final trial'… At Aguri's guidance, the group flew to an isolated island, the Yotsuba family seaplane setting down without serious incident.

"It's been a while, Aguri-chan."

The gang turned around to see an elderly tortoise-like fairy slowly floating up to them.

"Melan!" Aguri smiled. "It's good to see you!"

"What brings you all here?"

Mana, Rikka, Alice, and Makoto stepped forward. "We and Aguri-chan are the current generation of Pretty Cures. We've been working hard, training, fighting, learning things about ourselves… But if we're going to beat the Selfish Kingdom and restore the Trump Kingdom and its people, we need the power of the three legendary treasures. That's why we've come here, to earn the sacred crystal mirror, the Magical Lovely Pad!"

"…Hmm… …Very well. We shall see if you are worthy." She turned to face Ryūko & Regina. "And what about the two of you?"

"I'm… a former member of the Selfish Kingdom," Regina nervously admitted, "but then Mana-chan, _onée-chan_ , and the others showed me the light. I rejected the King's plans of destruction and conquest, and cast aside the corruptive Darkness that had been poisoning my heart. I fight for this world, and for the PreCures who defend it."

"As for me," Ryūko said, "I'm no Pretty Cure; I'm a traveling transforming heroine of a different sort. I've already completed my own epic quest, and now I've decided to help these girls with theirs. I've been doing what I can to train and teach them, guide them, and whatnot."

"She's super-strong" Raquel spoke up. "When Aguri-chan, Cure Ace, lost her way and got so devoted to her duties that she forsook the virtues of compassion and mercy, it was Ryūko-san who stood up to her, and even _beat_ her in a solo fight, even though Ace was the strongest PreCure at the time."

"…My Heart would probably still be 'frozen' if she hadn't knocked some sense into me…" Aguri bashfully admitted.

"In any event," Ryūko continued, "Regina and I will be sitting this one out. I'd like to see if the training and experiences these girls have been through was enough. …If I feel the need to intervene for their safety, I will, but we'll count that as an automatic loss for them. Is that fair?"

"…Fair enough" Melan agreed. "Well then, 'PreCure'… Prepare yourselves!"

Melan's eyes glowed, and then her entire body became a mass of light that grew, and grew, and _grew_ … As Sebastian, Ai, Regina, and Ryūko hurriedly cleared the field, the Cure Quintet found themselves staring up at a massive, vaguely turtle-like dragon!

"IF YOU WISH TO PROVE YOUR WORTH AS PRETTY CURE," the transformed Melan announced, "THEN YOU MUST DEFEAT ME!"

Though daunted by the challenge facing them, the girls transformed and prepared to go on the attack. Melan made the first move, a tail strike that the Cures barely avoided leaving a deep, long gouge in the beach sand. Cure Sword attacked, firing a Sparkle Sword barrage, but Melan basically ignored the tiny hits, and then a flap of her huge wings released a mighty blast of wind that sent the girls tumbling.

Melan charged and fired a 'low'-power flame burst, and Cure Rosetta's shield managed to withstand it and protect her, but was cracked and warped in the process; anything much bigger probably would've broken through. Cure Diamond leapt high, casting Diamond Shower and encasing the dragon's wings in ice… but a flex of Melan's wings broke the ice loose, and she punished Cure Diamond with a falling tail-strike that flattened her into the beach and almost knocked her out of her transformation.

"What are you girls doing?!" Ryūko shouted from the sidelines. "Quit attackin' one-by-one! You're a team, aren't you?!"

Listening, the girls nodded to each other, and moved to attack together; Cures Heart and Rosetta started hammering at Melan from the sides with full-charged physical blows, while Sword, Diamond, and Ace fired focused projectile barrages at her head. The dragon-form fairy growled as she actually started feeling pain from the assault, and then with a thrashing wave of her body she knocked the girls back, but they managed to land on their feet and pulled together. Then, they combined their energies and fired a Lovely Force Arrow, with Cure Ace adding in her Ace Shot.

Then, a shimmering barrier formed around Melan's dragon form, and when the attacks faded it was still in place, to the girls' shock. Then, as they stared in disbelief, the dragon began charging up a much stronger fire blast…

"Oi!" Ryūko shouted. "Deer in the headlights!"

That snapped the quintet out of their shock, and they scattered just in time to avoid the massive explosive torrent of flame that tore across the beach, leaving black glass in its wake. They fired their own solo attacks at Melan's face, forcing the dragon to shield again and back off for a moment.

"We have to do something about that barrier" Cure Sword said.

"Maybe I could use my Rosetta Reflection to cancel it out?" Cure Rosetta suggested. "I'm not sure it would be powerful enough, though…"

"Then we'll try transferring our power to you," Cure Heart replied, "pooling it together like we do with the Lovely Force Arrow."

"I will provide you the opportunity you need" Cure Ace told them. "Get it ready! _Ace Shot, Fire!_ "

As the blast of rose-colored energy surged out, Melan's barrier again came up to block it. The other four took the opportunity to gather behind Cure Rosetta, pouring their magical power into her. With a flash, Rosetta conjured a clover-shaped golden barrier – much smaller than normal, but shining bright with concentrated power. She fired it, the recoil knocking the girls behind her off their feet, and slammed into Melan's barrier like a meteor. Already strained by Ace's attack, and now subjected to a super-concentrated blast of opposite-aligned energy, the ancient fairy's barrier failed, shattering and allowing at least some of the attacks' power through to hit her.

With a roar, Melan released a shockwave of force that blasted the Cures back; in addition, Cure Ace's transformation time-limit ran out, Aguri collapsing as her five minutes were up.

"IS THIS TRULY THE LIMIT OF YOUR POWERS?" Dragon-Melan asked. "HOW SAD…"

"We're… not done yet" Cure Heart got to her feet. "We're not beat yet! As Cure Heart… as the student president… as Aida Mana… No matter what you or anyone else throws at me… I will _never, ever give up!-!_ "

With a pink aura flaring around her, Cure Heart charged. Melan began to charge a full-strength fire blast, but had to pause and readjust her aim as Heart leapt high, coming at her with a fist pulled back and glowing with power. The dragon fired… and, finally nailing down a trick she'd picked up from practicing and copying what she'd seen in the DDF footage, Cure Heart formed a solid pink Rune Shield in midair, angled to use as a springboard, and launched herself down & to the side, out of the flames' path. Forming another, she kicked off from it right toward Melan, who didn't have time to react before the full-force blow hammered her in the chest. The old dragon cried out in shocked pain as she was blasted back, flattening a few trees as she fell.

Cure Heart landed on the beach, panting and shaking, and then de-transformed as the exhaustion of what she'd just done took hold. The mighty dragon groaned as she got to her feet, worse for the wear. Then, a glittering light flew out of a cave at the base of the island's mountain, zipping through the air and over to the battlefield. A small purple mirror hovered in the air, and Melan's eyes widened as a face she hadn't seen in millennia appeared, giving her a grin and nod. After a few seconds, the ancient dragon sighed, and then became a mass of light that shrank down until the old fairy was back to her standard form.

"That's enough" she spoke. "You girls have proven your strength and resolve. Not since my old partner, Cure Empress, left this life have I seen someone with your determination and potential, Aida Mana. You all have earned the Magical Lovely Pad."

As the girls de-transformed and caught their breath, Mana was knocked over by a gleeful tackle-hug from Regina, while Ryūko and Sebastian strolled up.

"Well done, girls" Ryūko said with a grin. "Seems you've finally left the nest."

"If you hadn't snapped us out of that daze seeing our attacks fail left us in," Rikka replied, "that would've been it for us."

"Yeah, I guess I might have to try harder to train you girls out of the reaction of freezing up in shock when your big bang fails or the enemy starts chargin' up something big; that kinda response can get you killed."

"You taught them well" Melan said to her.

"Well, they've done a lot on their own; I've mainly just taught them a couple little things, and helped them polish what they already had…"

"…Incidentally, how would you have intervened had you deemed it necessary? It took all five of them to overcome me."

Ryūko grinned, and flared with red chakra, causing the old fairy's eyes to widen.

"That energy… You're a _Jinchūriki_?"

"Yeah. Senketsu and I are partners; when we work together, there's not much that we can't do."

"Of course," the Tailed Beast spoke up through his clothing avatar/mouthpiece, "I have but six tails. Among our allies elsewhere, there are a few others more powerful than I."

"Hmm…"

"In any event," Mana said, "we did it!"

"So, what now?" Rikka asked. "I'm beat…"

"Hmm… Why don't we stay the night to recover? I brought stuff to make dinner~!"

- _Break_ -

Under the stars, as everyone was gathered around a campfire helping themselves to the curry Mana had prepared, Ryūko and Melan sat a little ways off to the side, watching the others.

"Heh… So this is what it feels like to be proud of someone…" Ryūko said with a smile. "Never thought I'd be the type to teach anyone anything, much less taking a squad of magical girls under my wing…"

"…I've learned what you've done for them" Melan admitted. "As well as some of what you've been through before coming to this world. With your qualities… You'd have made a splendid Cure."

"Eh?" Ryūko blushed a little, a nervous grin as she rubbed at her head. "Nah, I'm not the type; I'm rough and crude, I've got a temper, and… well, I would _not_ look good in that kinda bright, frilly outfit, I think."

Melan chuckled softly. "You are brave, and determined, cunning and skillful, you have a strong sense of justice, and you have a strong Heart filled with Light and compassion, and you have touched so many lives…" The old fairy smiled. "Matoi Ryūko, as far as I and the spirits of those who came before are concerned, you have more than earned the right to be considered an honorary Pretty Cure."

Though embarrassed, Ryūko managed a smile, feeling touched. "Thank you, Elder. I'll do my best to keep living up to that."

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

The next day, the whole gang was gathered at the Aida family house/restaurant for lunch, with Rikka's mother and Aguri's grandmother attending as well. Suddenly, the news on TV switched to an urgent report: people all over town were suddenly and inexplicably collapsing asleep, unable to be roused by anything. As the girls gathered around the TV, wondering what it could mean, they were surprised by a series of soft thuds behind them. They turned, and saw that Mana's family, Rikka's mother, and Aguri's grandmother had collapsed, out cold. Desperate attempts to rouse them were futile.

Then, the Jikochuu Seeds, having snuck into the house, struck at their next targets. Mana, Rikka, Alice, Makoto, and Aguri were fine, protected by their Cure Loveads, the golden light disintegrating the dark seeds on contact… but the other two weren't so lucky. Ryūko and Regina collapsed to the floor, out like a light.

"Regina! Ryūko-san! Senketsu-kun!"

"It's no use" Rikka frowned. "They're all out cold."

Suddenly, the TV static fuzzed into a familiar face.

" _Oh, Preee-Cuuure~_!" Leva shouted gleefully. " _Come out, come out, wherever you are~! The people of your precious little town are only sleeping for_ _ **now**_ _… but once the Jikochuu Seeds rooted to their Hearts sprout, they will become a splendid, massive army of Jikochuu! Tens of thousands of them, ready to help conquer this miserable little world! And the dark energy released by that shall complete King Jikochuu's revival! The only way to stop it is to defeat us… Come to the television studio! Come and meet your demise!-!_ "

- _Break_ -

With Sebastian down, Davi in human form drove the five Cures (and Ai-chan) to the TV studio, which now had a huge and hideous tree seething with dark energy perched atop it. In addition, Leva & Gula were there, cocky smirks on their faces.

"This is our final plan," Leva announced, "and boy, has it paid off! Soon, we'll have an army of Jikochuu at our disposal, one that will put the force that conquered the Trump Kingdom to shame! All that's left…"

"…is to get rid of _you_ brats" Gula grinned.

"The time has come," the two of them spoke together, "to combine our powers like never before!" They both glowed with dark power, and then melded together, a jet-black shape growing and taking form. Soon, they emerged as a single huge monster, hideous and dull-green, a small bone-white mask near the top over an enormous mouth on its belly.

"This is the end for you, PreCure!" it/they announced.

In response, the quintet transformed, and the Leva/Gula fusion monster (hereafter referred to as 'Legula') charged. Cures Diamond and Ace engaged the monster in a rapid exchange of blows, but were quickly overwhelmed and thrown away. Heart & Sword fared little better, their strikes failing to do any appreciable damage and being responded to by swift and crushing counterblows that sent them reeling. Sword and Diamond tried a combo next, blasting Legula with Sparkling Sword and freezing it/them with Diamond Shower, but the beast broke free with almost zero effort, swinging its arm to release a blast of wind that bowled the girls over.

The fight continued like this for another few minutes, with Legula shrugging off everything the girls threw at him/them and beating them around. Finally, the girls charged up and fired a Lovely Force Arrow with an Ace Shot coiling around it… and Legula opened its main mouth wide and sucked the mass of Light energy in, gobbling it up without any signs of strain. Then, converting all that energy into Darkness, he/they fired it back at the girls, who had no chance of getting out of the way in time; the blast engulfed them, a massive explosion shattering glass for over 100 meters around.

As the dust cleared, the girls groaned as they tried to pick themselves up, wounds and tears marring their bodies and outfits. To make matters worse, Cure Ace ran out of time, reverting to Aguri.

"W… Where'd the Lovely Pad go?!" Cure Heart said, slightly panicking.

"Looking for _this_?"

Legula slowly stomped through the settling smoke, holding the mirror-form artifact between its/their fingertips.

"So what is this thing, anyway?" Legula asked in Gula's voice.

"It's one of the three 'sacred treasures'," Legula replied in Leva's voice, "used by the ancient PreCure millennia ago. But in _our_ hands… It's a worthless, helpless piece of _trash_!"

Then, Legula squeezed. Before the girls could do anything to stop it, the Magical Lovely Pad, the ancient artifact that had helped save the day so long ago, was shattered into five pieces. The Cures stared helplessly, horror and despair overcoming them, as their last hope was destroyed…

"And now," Legula said with a wicked grin, "it's _over_. Lie there in defeat. Watch helplessly as your world falls to Darkness and ruin!"

With an evil laugh, the fused monster leapt up to the top of the building, watching with glee as the Jikochuu Tree continued to spread its seeds. Below, Cure Heart collapsed forward, trembling and sobbing.

"It… It's over…" she whimpered. "We… We f… failed… We're not… s-strong enough… to… …No… No! It can't end like this! I… I won't let it! We can't fail here! Everyone, everything is depending on us! We have to do this! No matter what it takes!"

"But… The Lovely Pad is… destroyed…" Aguri murmured.

"Then we'll win without it!-! We can't give up! We _won't_! Never! This is do-or-die time, girls… So one more time, let's do this!-!"

After a moment, Cure Diamond smiled. "You've always been saying you'll do what sounds impossible, but this really is a whole new level. Still… It's not like we have a choice. If we lose here, this world is doomed."

"We beat Melan," Cure Sword said, "we can win this! Somehow!"

"They said this was their final plan" Cure Rosetta observed. "That must mean that this is the only idea they have left to use against us. They might not be given another chance, so if we can beat them here…"

Gathering up the pieces of the ancient mirror, Cure Heart stood. "This is it, girls. One more try!"

The girls moved forward despite their exhaustion and injuries, gathering as much of their power as they could. Legula soon took notice, and laughed.

"Come on, seriously?!" he/they said. "Give it up! You've _lost_!"

"Not yet!" Cure Heart shouted. "We're not finished yet!"

"As long as we have our courage…" Cure Sword said.

"As long as our hearts beat…" Aguri chimed in.

All: "We will _never give up!-!_ "

Suddenly, a brilliant light shone from the five shards of the Magical Lovely Pad, which floated up from Mana's arms and then hung in the air in front of the three girls. There was a sound like a heartbeat, and then all five pieces glowed and shifted in shape, forming into five modern-looking pads, each with their respective Cures' colors. In the light, Aguri's transformation was refueled, returning Cure Ace to the field.

"The Lovely Pads… They reacted to our feelings…" Cure Ace murmured, in shock.

"…Everyone!" Cure Heart shouted with a confident grin. "Let's end this!"

Ai-chan produced five new gold-&-diamond Loveads, and each Cure slotted theirs into their new Magical Lovely Pad. Light gathered onto the devices' centers, forming into what looked like decks of cards, which the girls then spread into circles, forming glowing runes of power. Sword, Rosetta, Diamond, and Ace transferred their power over to Cure Heart, four glowing cards flying over to Heart's Pad and surrounding her card in the center. She traced a heart shape around them, and they all melded together into a card with a winged heart arrow on it, glowing bright with power.

" _PreCure! Lovely Straight Flush!-!_ "

Cure Heart set the card flying… and it transformed into an arrow-like mass of shining light that streaked through the air like a shimmering comet straight at Legula. The fused monster barely had time to gape in shock before impact, a heart-shaped explosion of pink and golden light engulfing him/them. The shockwave from the blast obliterated the Jikochuu Tree, and near-instantly the dark miasma enshrouding the city vanished into nothingness, all the people being roused from their magic-induced slumbers.

As the smoke faded, Leva and Gula were splayed out on the ground, badly battered and groaning in pain. Then, the five Cures' transformations reverted, and the girls collapsed to their knees as their injuries and exhaustion caught up with them.

"We… We did it…" Rikka panted out. "We saved the town…"

"N-Not… yet…"

The girls looked up in shock as, with difficulty, Gula struggled to his feet.

"I can… still fight…!" he roared, an unsteady dark aura wavering around him.

The Cure Quintet felt shock and fear as the wounded giant began to stalk towards them, while they were too battered and tired to fight back. Suddenly, a streak of movement from the sky came in and landed in Gula's path: Regina, freshly awakened from the Jikochuu Seed's effects and ready to defend her friends.

"Ohh~?" Gula grinned. "So you're here, little 'princess'? I may not be in top shape right now, but I'm still plenty strong enough to take you down!"

"You're not getting past me, you greedy blob" Regina growled.

The big man laughed. "That's what _you_ think! I'm gonna _eat_ you, and then your little friends!"

Despite their injuries and tiredness, the Cures began to try and stand, ready to do whatever they could to help their friend. However, a dark barrier suddenly sprang up around Gula and Regina. The girls looked over at Gula, who had a wicked grin and one hand placed to the ground.

"We may have failed to convert the city into an army," he said, "but at least we can kill a traitor…"

Getting his second wind, Gula charged. Regina danced around his opening blows, but he steadily got faster, making it harder for her to dodge. Finally, he landed a glancing blow that knocked her back, but she managed to land on her feet. Forming a hand-seal, she made her shadow turn jet-black and race out to grab Gula's, but the gluttonous giant grinned wickedly and flexed, and Regina gasped as her Shadow Bind was overpowered and broken free of. He came in again, and she formed a Shadow Wall to block his blow, the black barrier bending and warping from the punch as she gritted her teeth from strain.

A few more blows broke through the barrier, and Regina rolled to avoid a sledgehammer fist-blow that cratered the pavement where she'd just been. She charged magic into her fist and slammed it into Gula's gut, but the Selfish General chuckled and then made a grab for her. She leapt to dodge, but her caught her leg and slammed her into the ground, picking her up and doing it again, and then a third time. Regina groaned, aching all over, as she was picked up and then let go, and a huge meaty fist hammered into her midsection while she was in midair, blasting her back to slam into the edge of the barrier and slide down.

Hearing her friends' panicked cries to her, Regina struggled to her feet, glaring up at Gula as he slowly stomped forward, his steps shaking the ground.

'I… I can't fall here…' she thought' ' _Onée-chan_ won't get here in time… I'm the only one who can protect them… My friends… Mana-chan… I have to protect them! No matter what, _I have to protect them! For their sake, I cannot lose!-!_ '

Gula charged again, but as he got close a shimmering golden light suddenly stopped him cold and launched him back. Mana, Rikka, Alice, Makoto, and Aguri stared in surprise and shock as motes of golden light swirled around Regina. The redeemed girl stared in confused awe as the warm, beautiful light began to coalesce in front of her, forming into two familiar objects:

"A… A Commune…" Aguri whispered.

"And a Lovead?" Rikka murmured. "Is this… real…?"

"No…" Leva stared in horror. "This can't be… Not _another_ one!"

Guided by her Heart and by the ancient magic of Light, Regina took hold of the objects, and called out:

"PreCure: _Love Link!_ "

In a swirling, sparkling mass of lights and power, Regina's torso was clad in a pure-black dress with gleaming white feathery fringe on the shoulders, at the waist, and at the hem of the skirt portion. White-trimmed black boots and gloves formed next, and then her golden hair changed to a pale white color, glistening in the light, a feathery tiara forming atop her head. A black bow formed at her waist, while crescent-shaped golden earrings hung from her ears. As power and knowledge flowed through her, she called out.

"The sheltering shade…" { _mamoru/rareru/raseru/reru/? kagé_ }… "Cure Shade!-!"

The five girls outside the barrier stared in disbelief.

"Regina…" Mana murmured, before a huge smile began to form on her face. "She… She's become a…"

"Another… PreCure?!" Gula shouted.

"It seems you've lost your love, sad Mr. Selfish General" the new Cure said, forming her hands into a rough curved arch/crescent held in front of the heart-shaped gem on her outfit's chest. "I, Cure Shade, will eclipse your rage!"

In disbelieving rage, Gula roared and charged at the newly-born Cure Shade. When he lashed out with a punch, however, she flipped up & over his fist and hit him with a kick so hard that it snapped his head to the side and sent him staggering. Wreathed in a wavering deep-blue aura, she charged in and began hammering him with blows so powerful they made audible shockwaves, pushing Gula back and quickly dealing significant damage. Snarling, he tried to crush her with his fist, but her shadow reached out and grabbed his, and this time it was much stronger, making him freeze with his huge fist a few inches from her head, as she looked at him with a calm, confident smile, not moving an inch.

" _Kagé Nui_!"

Now, Cure Shade's shadow solidified and lanced up as spearing tendrils, which wrapped around Gula's arm and then returned the favor for what he'd done to her earlier, smashing him back & forth into the ground. As he groaned and got to his feet, a blast of shimmering magic, Darkness-type but pure and free of any corruptive evil, hit him in the face, sending him stumbling back and weakening him further.

"This… This can't be happening!" he shouted. "You little _insect_! How _dare_ you make a fool of me?! I'll tear the flesh from your tiny body and make a necklace from your _bones_!-!"

In response, Cure Shade stayed calm and cool, as she called up a sizable amount of magical power. She held her hands forward, cupped in front of her chest, and as a ball of pitch-black magical power gathered there, the onlookers got a 'sixth-sense' feeling of being under a black curtain of starlight space.

"Goodbye, Gula" Cure Shade glared. "PreCure: _Moonless Night!_ "

She launched the orb forward, and when it hit Gula it expanded to completely engulf him. A Jikochuu would have its corrupted Heart purified, the tender pure Darkness gently tearing the corruptive darkness away. But for Gula, a being of such virulent evil darkness without a single spark of Light or goodness, it was fatal. The gluttonous giant let out one last cry of pained fury that trailed off and echoed away into nothing, as he was erased, the magic bursting into glittering particles like stars in a night sky.

"This… This can't be real…" Leva murmured as he teleported out, back to the Selfish Kingdom base… unaware that he was fleeing straight to his own execution at Bel's hands…

As the barrier faded, Cure Shade turned around just in time to get tackle-hugged by Mana, the others following close behind.

"I can't believe it!" Mana squeed. "You're a _PreCure_!"

"Eheheh… I'm as surprised as you are" Regina said sheepishly, looking her new form over. "Still, I can't say I'm not happy about it…"

"Holy sh… Regina?! Is that you?!" The girls turned to see Ryūko arriving, ready for a fight that was already over. "The hell did I miss?!"

"Quite a lot" Alice replied cheerfully. "Besides Regina-san becoming Cure Shade, the Magical Lovely Pad turned into _five_ Lovely Pads. Oh, and Gula is dead."

"…This is gonna take a bit to explain to me properly, isn't it?"

"Kinda, yeah" Rikka replied, as Regina de-transformed.

The older girl smiled. "Well, at least everyone's alive. Come on back to the house, girls. I'd say this calls for a celebration… a small one, though; don't wanna go overboard, especially with how wiped out and rickety you girls look right now."

The girls laughed at that, able to ignore their pains and tiredness for now.

 **-** ** _CHAPTER END_** **-**

Or is " _mamoru_ " not even the right verb to use for "sheltering" as in "that which shelters/protects (things/people/others)"?


	4. DokiDoki 4

**PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** ** _CHAPTER START_** **-**

 **Realm PC-7**

After Leva & Gula's final defeat, things were calm for a few days, until preparations for the school's culture festival led to Mana collapsing with a fever and exhaustion from overworking herself. On the day of the festival, when Mana tried to come in and help regardless, the other girls made her rest, while Aguri chewed out Mana's subordinates and the other students for relying too much on Mana and not trying to solve any of their problems themselves. Fortunately, the lecture worked, the students managing to find ways to take care of the issues that cropped up.

Then, however, Mammo had shown up and summoned a new kind of Jikochuu; apparently, Bel had executed Leva for his failures and made his essence into a 'Blood Ring' that allowed Mammo to conjure Jikochuu of great power and durability. Of course, Cure Shade destroying Gula meant there was only one Blood Ring, and with Ira having defected and stepped out of the war altogether, there was no-one to give a second ring to anyway. (In addition, Ira stepping out meant Bel had to do more work, leaving him in a fouler mood than usual, just as Ira had hoped).

The powered-up Jikochuu proved to be stronger, faster, tougher, and angrier than ones before, giving the Cure Sextet trouble even with Mana's schoolmates cheering the Cures on (Regina/Shade was somewhat peeved that the Jikochuu's flight kept its shadow too small and mobile for her to 'grab', limiting her offensive options to standard melee strikes and mana blasts). However, the girls managed to rally, Cure Ace debuting a new Lovely Pad-imbued attack, "Ace Mirror Flash", that stunned and entrapped the Jikochuu long enough for the five Pad-bearers to finish the monster off with Lovely Straight Flush. The girls had then made their dramatic exit before the cheering crowd, and the culture festival had proceeded as planned without any further incident.

Soon after, however, it was discovered that Ai-chan was entering her 'impulsive' stage, and the heroines learned (the hard way) that whenever she cried, the Cures' powers were weakened, while Jikochuu forces got a power-up. At the park, Bel unleashed a motorcycle-themed Jikochuu at the girls, using Ai's fear of it to trigger her Darkness-empowering crying, but Cure Diamond managed to calm it enough for the group to bring it down. Then, right when they discovered that Ai-chan had grown her first teeth, it was revealed that Makoto had her first cavity… and she was so terrified by the dentist that she ran out of the office like Hell itself was chasing her. This fed Ai's fear, giving the next, cavity-themed Jikochuu a boost, but Cure Sword managed to get over herself long enough to help calm Ai and vanquish the monster. …And then, once Makoto was actually in the dentist's chair again, her fear got the best of her to the point that she revealed her powers to the dentist and his assistant by _knocking herself unconscious with them_ , choosing that exposure and the risk of a 'magic concussion' over being awake & aware for the drilling & filling ("I've… never seen fear of the dentist this _bad_ before…" the doctor had admitted. Though, fearing she'd KO herself _again_ if they waited or roused her, they had to go ahead and do her filling while she was out cold, and then gave her the number for a psychiatrist who could hopefully help her get over her crippling fear of dentistry).

After that came a 'minor' incident where Rikka's fairy partner Raquel fell in love with one of their classmates, a girl named Yashima. He went so far as to try and take on a Blood Ring-empowered Jikochuu by himself for her sake (though, the beast had already been weakened after Ryūko and her Vulpix taught it the hard way that the toxic sludge it was spewing out was flammable), managing to stun it enough for a Lovely Straight Flush to finish it off. Unfortunately, the revelation that Yashima already had a boyfriend left Raquel heartbroken; the sight of him turning away from her with tears in his eyes and then fleeing the scene left the girl confused and worried, until Ryūko spelled the situation out to her, leaving Yashima feeling quite a bit of guilt at accidentally leading the poor boy on…

Then came the discovery that Ai-chan didn't like carrots… and neither did Aguri. And when Regina tried a bit of carrots to convince them it 'wasn't so bad', she hated it so much she actually _threw up_ from the taste (as for Ryūko, for her carrots were "meh"; she didn't hate them, but wasn't about to go out of her way for them). Aguri's grandmother and Mana's grandfather orchestrated a trip to carrot farm, where they all planned to convince Ai and Aguri to actually try to like carrots (and where Ryūko's casual admittance that Regina actually _vomited_ from the taste of carrot got the mortified blonde numerous incredulous looks from the carrot farmers).

Bel showed up, summoning a sizable gingerbread-house Jikochuu, trapping Cure Ace and Ai-chan within it, where Ai's crying powered it up. Ace managed to break out by conquering her fear/dislike of carrots, convincing Ai to do the same, allowing the heroines to vanquish the monster. …But Regina's sickness-level hatred of the taste of carrot was deemed a lost cause, especially when trying any during the after-fight 'feast' resulted in the same outcome; "we'll have to be content with two-out-of-three, I guess…" Mana had sighed.

Not long after that, Bel & Mammo's next plot was stopped before it could start; they had planned to try infiltrating Mana's house and corrupting Ai-chan, but never even got the chance. Regina had some elementary skills with barriers and bounded fields (in fact, she actually owned a book from the Trump Kingdom called "Beginners' Guide to Seals & Barriers" that she'd started studying recently), and with Senketsu's help they had set up a detection rune around the building that woke the two of them (and, through Senketsu, Ryūko) up and let them head the evil twosome off and chase them away. In the ensuing fight, Cure Shade had hit Mammo with a focused, shrunken and concentrated Moonless Night that didn't do much damage to Mammo… because it wasn't meant to; instead, it had overloaded her Blood-Ring and blown it to bits, robbing the Selfish Leaders of that asset.

Now, the gang was on an unexpected journey into the heart of enemy territory. Jonathan Klondike had returned, claiming that one thing might be able to break Princess Marie-Ange's seal and free her: the Miracle Dragon Glaive, which rested in the basement level of the royal castle of the Trump Kingdom. He teleported them there (where did he learn that?), and with the Lovely Pad's help they navigated the old city's expansive underground tunnel network, until finally they reached a massive chamber where the 'spear of light' sat with its tip buried in the stone floor. Their guide watched as the girls approached the weapon... and then stopped, and turned to face him.

Ryūko folded her arms. "You can drop the act now, _Bel_."

"Wha?!" 'Jonathan' stepped back in shock. "W-What do you…?"

"Lemme let you in on a little secret, and explain that crimson chakra you saw me use when I fought the corrupted Regina: I'm a _Jinchūriki_ , and I'm in perfect harmony with my Tailed Beast partner. Among other things, that gives me & him the ability to sense ill intent in others. We knew it was you the _second_ you showed up!"

'A… A _Jinchūriki_? Here?! Helping the PreCures all along?!'

"Of course, you didn't exactly help your case" Alice explained. "Referring to her as 'the Princess' when the real Jonathan always called her by her name with love in his voice; that sudden teleportation bit and how you got so nervous when we called you on it; making _takoyaki_ without any octopus in it… Even without Ryūko-san's help, you wouldn't have fooled us!"

'Joe' fell to his hands & knees with a snarl, Bel's disguise evaporating into black wisps, his sunglass-covered eyes glaring at the girls.

"Thanks for leading us here~" Mana said cheerfully. "We wouldn't have been able to come and get the spear without your 'help'!"

"You've lost your edge since I saw the Light and Ira quit, old man" Regina said with a teasing grin.

Bel snarled. "Jikochuu! Plan B! Get down here!"

"You called~?!" the Jikochuu – a huge red muscled biped with an octopus-thing for a head – dropped down from the ceiling. "Time to make sushi out of you girls!"

"Ugh, I hate octopus…" Regina grumbled.

"Let's go, girls!" Mana announced.

Seven sparkling lights enveloped the girls, who soon emerged in their combat forms:

"Overflowing love! Cure Heart!"

"Light of wisdom! Cure Diamond!"

"Warmth of the sun! Cure Rosetta!"

"Blade of courage! Cure Sword!"

"Trump card of love! Cure Ace!"

"Sheltering shadows! Cure Shade!"

" _Jin'i Ittai! Kamui Senketsu!_ "

"Resonate, heartbeat of love! _DokiDoki PreCure!-!_ "

The Jikochuu smashes its huge fist down at the girls, but Ace & Shade managed to catch the blow. "Go for the spear!" Ace shouted to the original quartet. "We'll handle him!"

Heart, Diamond, Rosetta, and Sword hurried over to the stuck Miracle Dragon Glaive, and Cure Heart tried to pull it free. …It didn't budge, not even when the other three tried to help her. As he traded blows with Ryūko, Bel frowned as he caught sight of the girls; his whole plan had hinged on stealing the Glaive once the girls pulled it free, but if they _couldn't_ … The Jikochuu upped its game, firing a black blast of evil energy at the girls, forcing them to forget the spear and focus on fighting it for now.

A barrage of darkness-power 'bullets' from the Jikochuu had the girls jumping, flipping, and twisting around to dodge. Cure Sword returned fire with a Sparkling Sword barrage, forcing the Jikochuu to shield its 'face', and Cure Heart blasted it with a 'My Sweetheart' that shoved it back, doing respectable damage but not a decisive blow. Cure Shade then grabbed hold of the Jikochuu's shadow with her own, holding the monster in place for Rosetta and Ace to hammer it with a rapid barrage of punishing physical blows. However, Bel shoved Ryūko back for a moment with a directed shockwave and then immediately quick-fired an energy blast at the floor to disrupt the shadow-capture link. Before Cure Shade could reestablish to link or get away, the Jikochuu grabbed her, slammed her around a couple times, and then flung her away.

A shield battering-ram from Cure Rosetta smashed the Jikochuu in the face, and Cures Heart & Diamond double-teamed it with a melee assault, pushing the monster back. As Sword & Ace moved to attack next, however, the Jikochuu recovered and beat them back. Then, it exhaled a powerful stream of highly corrosive ink at the girls. Rosetta quickly formed a shield that the others hunkered behind, struggling as the liquid pressure tried to shove her back. The glowing clover-shaped shield began to warp and crack, being eaten away by the corrosive assault…

"Hey, Tentacles!"

At Cure Shade's shout, everyone turned to look… and gaped in shock as they saw her grinning and holding the Miracle Dragon Glaive, its tip glowing with brilliant golden light and pointed right at the Jikochuu.

"Open wide!"

Regina fired, and a roaring wave of golden energy surged out, slamming into the Jikochuu like a freight train. The beast cried out as it was blasted back, away from the other girls and clear into the far wall. It fell to the floor with a thud, groaning, its form wavering as Light energy crackled around it.

"Cure Shade… pulled the Glaive out?!" Cure Sword gasped.

"Impossible…" Bel growled out. "This can't be happening…"

"WELL DONE, PRECURE…"

A familiar booming voice suddenly rang out in a mocking tone. Cure Shade paled, hurrying over to the other girls, as a 'small' projection of King Jikochuu appeared, towering over everyone.

"REGINA… TO THINK THAT YOU WOULD NOT ONLY BECOME A PRETTY CURE, BUT BE ABLE TO PULL THE MIRACLE DRAGON GLAIVE FROM ITS RESTING PLACE… I TRULY AM SURPRISED… AND MORE THAN A LITTLE UPSET! PRECURES… IN MY CURRENT STATE, I MAY NOT HAVE ACCESS TO MORE THAN A SMALL PORTION OF MY POWER, BUT I STILL HAVE ENOUGH TO DO _THIS!-!_ "

The dark king's avatar flashed, and a red & black lightning bolt shot down from above and struck the fallen Jikochuu. The octopus-themed monster roared out as it got to its feet, a dark purple aura surging around it as it bulked up and increased in height. As King Jikochuu's projection vanished, Ryūko moved over to join the girls, even though this gave Bel the chance he needed to escape.

"What are the odds that fancy spear will be able to take that thing down?" she asked.

"Judging by how much power papa just poured into it?" Cure Shade replied. "Not very good. This is gonna be painful…"

The supercharged Jikochuu fired a _huge_ beam of dark power, carving a trench along the stone floor as the seven heroines barely leapt out of the way in time. Ryūko and Cure Ace moved in and struck with a flurry of rapid high-power blows, but failed to break through the monster's guard, and it countered with a swinging strike that sent them both flying. It then tried to stomp on Cure Sword, who flipped out of the way and fired a Sparkling Sword at its torso, but got barely any reaction. Even a Heart Shoot to the gut and a slicing wave of Light magic from Cure Shade's new glaive barely got more than a flinch.

With a roar, the charged-up Jikochuu slammed its fists onto the ground, releasing a damaging shockwave that blasted the girls back. Ryūko charged fire chakra into her blade and swung, releasing a slicing wave of fire at the monster's legs, but it did only superficial damage. The beast then charged and fired an extra-large blast of Darkness power, and Cure Rosetta put her all into a Rosetta Reflection barrier, with Cure Shade layering a Shadow Barrier on top of it. The defense held for a brief moment, but then cracked and shattered, and the partially-deflected blast blew the septet away.

The heroines groaned as they got to their feet. Then, the Jikochuu quickly charged up another extra-strength blast, and fired before they could react. Suddenly, Cure Heart's Magical Lovely Pad floated up and emitted a brilliant light, nullifying the incoming Darkness. A glittering Lovead emerged in a flash of light, floating down to Cure Heart. She fought through her surprise and took hold of it, slotting it into Sharyl's commune form, and Ai-chan released a burst of light that enveloped the Pad, changing it into a new form: a pink & white harp with dark screen in the middle that showed an etched heart and bead design along the top under a white band, with three pink hearts set beneath a gold band toward the bottom, along with golden hearts at the four corners and five colored strings down the center.

"What… is this?" Cure Heart asked.

"This light…" Cure Ace gazed in awe at the object. "Such power… Is this the Lovely Pad's true power?"

Shaking off her shock, Cure Heart gained a determined expression. She grabbed the 'Lovely Harp' and strummed it, and brilliant power flowed through the six Cures. In bursts of light, each Cure gained a set of large, glistening white angelic wings, while their bodies and the hearts on their outfits' chests glowed with their respective magic colors. They all flew/floated up, taking position in front of a large, magic rune-circle – Diamond, Rosetta, Sword, Ace, and Shade formed the five points of a star, with Heart in the center. Heart strummed the harp again, and the circle glowed near-blinding bright with power as they called out:

"PreCure: _Royal Lovely Straight Flush!-!_ "

White light shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow surged and coalesced into a point in front of the girls, and then fired as a surging wave of power. The Jikochuu tried to run, but Ryūko briefly went to Tailed-Beast Cloak Stage 1, flash-stepped over to cut its retreat off, and struck it with a blow that knocked it right into the incoming purifier attack's path. It was struck and engulfed, glistening pink light engulfing it, and with a burst of Light and Darkness the monster was vanquished, its captured Heart purified and sent on its way back to its owner. As the girls floated back down, their wings dispelling, they were left feeling tired but victorious.

"Well, that was pretty impressive" Ryūko said. "Had even more power packed into it than anything I could throw out without tapping into a _big_ chunk of Senketsu's _Bijū_ power."

"We've got the Dragon Glaive _and_ the Lovely Pad, we've got a new ultimate finisher attack…" Cure Diamond remarked. "Now, we just need two more things!"

"What?" Cure Ace asked.

"The third ancient legendary treasure… and a way out of here and back home…"

"…Crap" Ryūko said. "We only got here by tricking Bel…"

Suddenly, Ai-chan produced another new Lovead, which was slotted into the Magical Lovely Pad. A picture of a mirror appeared on its screen, and when Ai rubbed at it the 'picture' grew and glowed. As the girls gathered around, an image of their hometown appeared, and a flash of light suddenly enveloped them, teleporting them through the new gateway and back home…

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

After that escapade, Bel and Mammo made a couple more token efforts to harass the team. Bel tried using an orbiting Tree Jikochuu to ruin Alice's attempt to sell flowers at a flea market (but inadvertently repaired the long-broken friendship between her and Reina), but after the Yotsuba family's satellite detected it and pinpointed its location, the girls used the Lovely Harp's wings to fly up and take it out. Then, when it was discovered that Aguri was actually adopted and didn't know her birthday, the girls decided to throw a party for her, with help from Mana's family. Mammo turned a giant-ant Jikochuu on them, but only for Ryūko and her Vulpix to show it what happens when high-power Fire-type attacks are used against a giant bug; the monster was left burnt to a crisp and barely holding itself together, such that Regina/Shade using the glowing tip of her glaive to casually jab it in the chest was enough to finish it off and purify it.

Then, something caught everyone by surprise: during the tail end of a battle against one of Mammo's Jikochuu, Aguri's grandmother Mari caught her de-transforming. That night, the others were making plans to talk to the woman tomorrow, only for Aguri to show up at Mami's doorstep, shivering from the cold rain and with tears streaming down her face. Then, once Aguri had calmed down, she revealed that not only had her grandmother known she was Cure Ace all along, but… the memories she thought were real were now in doubt.

Apparently, she had fallen from the sky as a baby, and when Mari had found her a Jikochuu had attacked, only for the infant Aguri to release a pulse of light and transform into her current 10-year-old self, followed by a mysterious voice telling Mari to watch over her. She also confessed as to how recently she'd been having a recurring dream of Princess Marie-Ange fighting against King Jikochuu… and, shocked, Regina confessed that _she'd_ been having the same dream.

The next day was Parents' Day at Aguri's school, and despite the girl's fears her grandmother had shown up. Now, as Aguri prepared to explain just who her favorite person was, holding a picture she had painstakingly drawn, there was a sudden thud and crash from outside. Spurred on by Mammo, an eraser-themed Jikochuu blasted down the school's front doors and began rampaging through the halls, erasing every picture, drawing, and image it could find. Aguri slipped out into the halls, soon joined by the other five Cures and Ryūko, and the septet transformed.

Suddenly, a group of kids trying to figure out where to go to find safety instead stumbled right into the hallway. Thinking fast, Ryūko sent out her Vulpix and Pancham, to the children's astonishment.

"Long story short," she hurriedly told the kids, "I'm part of a group of heroes from other universes who've teamed up to help people. We went the Pokémon universe recently. You two, get these kids outta here and keep 'em safe!"

The little fox and fighting panda nodded, and began escorting the children out. Meanwhile, the eraser-Jikochuu fired a barrage of eraser projectiles at the team, only for Ryūko to move her Scissor Blade in a blur of motion, chopping them all to bits in midair. Cure Sword stunned it with Sword Hurricane, and then Cure Shade fired a concussive blast from her glaive that blew the monster clear out the 'door' it had made and out into the school's front courtyard. The monster growled as it staggered to its… well, it didn't exactly have _feet_ , per se, or even legs for that matter…

The kids being escorted by Ryūko's Pokémon again found themselves too close for comfort, and huddled against the building's outside wall as the Cures and Ryūko came out to re-engage the monster. As the attacks started flying, a stray shot from the Jikochuu slammed into the side of the building's third story, sending a huge chunk of rubble plummeting down… right towards the children. The Cures noticed and tried to move, but the Jikochuu and Mammo kept them too busy, foiling their attempts to help. For Ryūko's Pancham, time seemed to move in slow motion as he saw the rubble coming down, too big and hard for his Brick Break to safely destroy; he and Vulpix would survive without major injuries, but these children would be crushed. The need to do something, _anything_ to protect them welled up inside him…

There was a flash of brilliant white light, and the rubble was effortlessly smashed away. Everyone looked in shock as the one who'd saved the children stood tall, much taller than before, letting out a low growl. Then, with a roar, Pangoro charged at the Jikochuu. The large and powerful Fighting/Dark type leapt over the monster's 'eraser machinegun' barrage and came down on it with a full-strength Hammer Arm, hitting with such force that the monster was slammed face-first down into the dirt with enough force to rattle the school building's windows over a dozen meters away. He followed up with a Comet Punch barrage, beating the Jikochuu back. The monster roared as it regained its balance and 'punched' out with its eraser hands, only for Pangoro to catch them, snarling as he strained and pushed, actually starting to shove the Jikochuu back.

Mammo tried to intervene, and barely avoided being scorched by Vulpix's Flamethrower when the little fox came to her teammate's defense. Then, Ryūko made her own move, a flying kick that sent Mammo careening across the battlefield. Meanwhile, Pangoro grabbed hold of the Jikochuu's arm, and with a roar he flipped the monster over his shoulder and slammed it down into the ground, stunning it. He then turned and gave a look and a nod to Cure Ace, who nodded in return and produced her weapon, charging and firing her signature Ace Shot. The Jikochuu was engulfed by the red purifying energy, a blast of smoke and light fading to reveal a purified Heart fluttering its way up and back into the building, seeking its owner. As usual, all the damage the Jikochuu had caused was magically undone by a light shining down from the sky. Growling as she picked herself up, Mammo teleported out.

"Well done, big guy!" Ryūko said with a grin as she came up to Pangoro, holding out her fist for a bump. "I can't believe you evolved! And man, you beat the living hell outta that thing!"

Pangoro let out a sheepish little chuckle, embarrassed by the praise, as he returned the fist-bump with his Trainer. Meanwhile, Aguri/Ace and her grandmother were having their own little moment, one that ended with Ace de-transforming and hurrying into her grandma's welcoming arms as the other Cures looked on.

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

A few days later, Jonathan Klondike finally returned, and he brought a very special something with him: the Eternal Golden Crown, last of the three legendary treasures. He hoped that one of them could maybe awaken its power of "ultimate knowledge". Mana tried it on first, but nothing happened. Aguri scolded her for not treating a 10,000-year-old magical relic with more respect and care, plucked it off the pinkette's head… and the crown glowed brightly as knowledge poured into Aguri's head, leading her to collapse.

As they all fretted over the fallen Aguri, Ryūko waved them back and then laid her hand on Aguri's forehead, closing her eyes and letting Senketsu try and sort through the girl's mind. After a couple minutes, the girl stirred, slowly sitting up.

"…I know now" she said quietly. "Everything…" She looked over at the giant blue crystal that showed Princess Marie-Ange sleeping within. Getting up, she walked over to it, lay her hand on the crystal… and the Princess' image vanished, to the group's shock.

"Marie-Ange was never here" she explained. "It was just an illusion, to fool the Selfish Kingdom and buy time."

"Then… Where is she?" Mana asked.

Aguri sighed. "The Queen's pregnancy with Princess Marie-Ange was a difficult one. She didn't survive giving birth to her daughter. The Princess' father, Trump Kingdom's King, swore to honor his beloved wife's final wish: to raise their daughter to be a bright, shining beacon of hope, shining upon the kingdom like the sun. She grew up strong, and happy, a beautiful and kind woman.

"But… One day, not long before the Kingdom's fall… A tiny piece of Darkness escaped the three Legendary PreCures' seal, found its way to Marie-Ange, and afflicted her. The black magic poisoned her, eating away at her life-force. Desperate to save his daughter, the King… gave into the selfish desire to protect her, and broke the ancient seal in order to retrieve the Golden Crown that had sustained it, using its knowledge to heal Marie-Ange.

"It worked – the knowledge from the Crown enabled the King and the castle attendants to reverse the damage, and save the Princess' life. …And then, right in front of them all, the primordial Darkness that the Legendary Cures of 10 millennia ago had defeated appeared… and poured itself _into_ the King. His body and Heart and mind were twisted and consumed by the Darkness… and he became King Jikochuu."

Everyone gasped, with Makoto and Regina visibly trembling.

"You all know most of what happened next. But… After the Princess sent Makoto through to the human world… she was confronted by Bel. He verbally dissected her, pointed out how she had refused to kill the Dark King even though in her hands the Miracle Dragon Glaive had the power to do that. By choosing family over her people, she was being 'selfish'… and 'Selfish' is exactly what he then tried to turn her into. The Princess… did what _nobody_ could have expected, in response to that:

"She ripped out her own Heart."

"S-She… She _what_ …?" Makoto whispered/whimpered, hands over her mouth.

"She took her own partially-corrupted Heart, and split it into two new Hearts – one composed of her love for her father, already partially twisted, and the other of her love for her kingdom and its people. She sent them away, and they each found their way to different places, and reincarnated into two new people: Regina, and myself. Meanwhile, her empty shell of a body, rather than becoming a 'Nobody', reverted into an egg…"

"An… egg…" Mana mumbled. "…Ai… Ai-chan is the Princess' _body_ reincarnated?"

Aguri nodded. "When she sent the two halves of her Heart away… the Princess decreed that which of her two loves was truly stronger, more 'important', would be decided in a final clash between whoever they became. That was what she foresaw, the 'fate' she knew would come to be…"

The group was utterly silent, too shocked for words by one mind-blowing revelation after another.

"…I won't do it"

Startled, they turned to Regina, who was trembling, holding herself.

"I… I won't do it. To _hell_ with 'fate'; after everything we've been through… I'm _not_ fighting my _teammate_!"

Aguri gasped softly.

"Remember what the people _onée-chan_ is with have done!" Regina continued. "They've gone up against one cruel 'preordained' fate after another, and each one they've kept from coming to pass. Every time anybody they got involved with said something was set in stone and unavoidable, they've proven them _wrong_! Fate isn't written; it's something we _make_ , something we _choose_ , and I choose _not_ to follow what the Princess thought would happen! I will not raise my hand against my… my _sister_!"

As Aguri trembled from that proclamation, Ryūko punched her own palm.

"That's right" she said. "To hell with 'fate'! I say we make our _own_ destiny, one that ends up with all of us alive and happy!"

"Exactly!" Mana stood up. "We'll find a different solution, one that doesn't require two of our team-members trying to kill each other!"

"There's another thing to consider" Rikka spoke up. "Now that we know the truth about King Jikochuu… what do we do about him?"

"…We… have to fight him…" Regina said quietly, her head hanging low. "Papa… was willing to sacrifice _everything_ for me… That makes me… h-happier than I'd ever expected… But…"

"You'll fight him even though you love him?" Jonathan asked.

"…I'll fight him _because_ I love him. The papa who loved his daughter and his kingdom… would be horrified by what his current self has done. For the sake of who he was… we have to stop what he's become."

Alice sighed as she leaned back in her seat. "So… We need to start brainstorming. And we need to be ready for-"

Suddenly, there was a low, deep shudder in the air. The eyes of Senketsu's clothing-avatar widened, while Regina let out a strangled gasp, doubling over and starting to shake.

"W-What's wrong?" Mana asked.

"There is… a great and terrible Darkness approaching" Senketsu announced. "Twisted and wicked, and terribly powerful…"

"H-He…" Regina whimpered, terror in her voice. "H-He's free… Papa… King Jikochuu is free… He… My God… H-He's coming… He's _coming here!-!_ "

"Milady!" Sebastian ran in, hurrying to Alice's side. "We have a very grave situation, milady. Our cameras watching the coastline just transmitted this."

He pulled out a laptop, keying in a few commands, and the screen showed a real-time image from the top of the city's tower, looking out at the ocean… where, backlit by a glowing crack/rift in reality, an enormous red & black horned figure was slowly striding through the waves, approaching the city.

"K… King…" Mana whispered, quivering, "Jikochuu…"

 **-** ** _CHAPTER END_** **-**

Next Time: The final battles of Part 1 of this fic.


	5. DokiDoki 5

**PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** ** _CHAPTER START_** **-**

 **Realm PC-7**

The whole team scrambled to handle the situation, transforming and making for the waterfront. As the people in the city began to panic from the sight of King Jikochuu and the small arm of Jikochuu accompanying him drawing closer, the seven heroines took to the air, Ryūko already in Stage-1 Chakra Cloak mode. Suddenly, Bel and Mammo flew in to block their path.

"You're not getting to His Majesty" Bel said. "We'll stop you here."

"Heh" Ryūko smirked. "Just the two of you against all of us? You really think that'll work?"

"THEN PERHAPS I SHOULD MAKE IT A LITTLE LESS UNEVEN" King Jikochuu's voice rang out. "ARISE, SHADES OF THE FALLEN!"

Four swirling black portals appeared atop a nearby building, and four figures emerged – jet-black, with glowing purple eyes. The girls stared in shock as they beheld dark copies of Lust, Gouma, Leva, and Gula. Furthermore, they and the two living Selfish Generals were enveloped in wavering dark-purple auras, Darkness power flowing through them courtesy of their King.

Each of the six elite enemy units went for a Pretty Cure (Bel against Heart, Mammo against Rosetta, Shadow-Leva against Sword, Shadow-Lust against Diamond, Shadow-Gouma against Shade, and Shadow-Gula against Ace), while Ryūko was suddenly swamped by a pack of Jikochuu, keeping her from helping. Shadow-Gula came down at Cure Ace with an attempted double-fist hammer smash, and she barely dodged, the blow shattering the concrete where she'd just been standing. At the same time, Cure Diamond was on the defensive, frantically moving about to dodge the veritable hailstorm of energy blasts Shadow-Lust was firing at her.

Cure Shade gritted her teeth as the melee specialist that was Shadow-Gouma didn't give her room to fire any Light blasts from her Dragon Glaive; fortunately, she had natural talent at using the spear as a close-quarters weapon as well, managing to not only keep Shadow-Gouma at bay but also landing a few hits on her skilled opponent. Still, the duplicate of the deceased Selfish General kept coming. Not too far away, Cure Sword and Shadow-Leva were blasting away at each other, Makoto firing sword-shaped magic blasts while trying to avoid the razor-brimmed top hat that kept being flung at her.

Cures Heart & Rosetta had managed to bring their respective fights against Bel and Mammo close enough to each other to make it into a 2-on-2; Rosetta used her shield to block a dark energy blast from Bel that had been heading for Heart from behind, and Heart then fired a small pink blast to deflect Mammo's incoming whip before it could wrap around Rosetta's leg. Overhead, three vulture-type Jikochuu plummeted from the sky, trailing feathers and flames after being caught in the explosion of Ryūko's _Katon: Gōkakyū_.

Blasted back by a Diamond Shower attack, Shadow-Lust snarled as the glow of her eyes brightened, and then a _massive_ swarm of dark-purple energy blasts phased in and shot right at Cure Diamond. Knowing she couldn't dodge that many, Rikka resorted to her newest trick, conjuring a wall of ice as a shield. She gritted her teeth as the blasts hammered at her defense, blowing divots in it and blasting off chips & chunks. Suddenly, she looked back over her shoulder just in time to see an extra-large blast circling around and coming at her from behind, with no room to maneuver and no time to dodge…

Another energy blast, of a lighter shade of purple, came in from below and to the side, slamming into Shadow-Lust's blast just before it could hit Cure Diamond and knocking it away. Then, a figure wrapped in a ragged beige cloak flew in and blindsided Shadow-Lust with a kick that sent her rocketing down into the side of a building. The other combatants on both sides turned to see the new interloper, who descended to the ground alongside Diamond. Turning toward Cure Diamond, the figure lowered their hood, revealing…

"I… Ira?!"

"Yo" the young former Selfish warrior grinned. "Guess what? After traveling around, seeing the sights, meeting people… I've decided I kinda like this ball of rock & water and the crazy people who live on it. And so, I'm gonna help you and your friends keep it in one piece."

After a moment, a big smile formed on Cure Diamond's face. "I see… I'm really glad that you've come to want to protect this world, that you've let that much Light into your Heart. I'm so glad… that you came back, Ira…"

The boy's eyes widened as he blushed, averting his gaze. "I-It's not like I could just sit this out. This planet's my home now, so I gotta do what I can for it…"

"Ira!" Bel roared out. "You dare show your face before the King, you traitor?!"

"Aw shuddup, old man! And to hell with your psycho 'king'!"

"You really think one more player for their team will make a big difference, brat?" Mammo said with a cocky grin.

In response, Ira made the same kind of expression back at her. "Probably not. Good thing I didn't come alone…"

Shadow-Gula tried to take advantage of the Cures being distracted by launching a surprise attack against Cure Rosetta… and then a giant of a man with brownish skin and crew-cut blonde hair dropped in from out of nowhere and caught Shadow-Gula's fist. With a roar, Gamagoori hammered the dark revenant-clone with a blow that sent it tumbling and crashing into a nearby building. Shadow-Leva took a blow to the back of the head from Sanageyama's boot, while a slash from Jakuzure's short-sword took Shadow-Lust's left arm off, and a round from an M6 Carnifex wielded by Inumuta blasted Mammo's whip right out of her hand. With a war-cry, Mako – in full _Gokuseifuku_ regalia – came in with a heel-drop onto Shadow-Leva that hammered the revenant-shade into a sizable new crater, the dark copy coming apart into wisps of Darkness. Finally, a deep-blue Scissor Blade slashed through two Jikochuu, taking their heads off, its owner strolling up to Ryūko.

"Getting caught up in giant messes as usual, Ryūko?" she asked good-naturedly.

Ryūko let out a sigh and a grin. "What can I say? I just can't stay out of a good brawl. You know my luck, _née-chan_."

As the Cures gathered back together, Satsuki and her attendants joined Ryūko & Mako in doing the same. Now, _14_ heroes stood ready to fight against King Jikochuu and his forces, to defend this city and its people.

"I know you're strong, Mako," Ryūko said, "but how did you do _that_ with one kick?"

"Eheheh…" the shorter girl grinned. "Haruno Sakura-san has started teaching me stuff!"

"Devas!" Satsuki called out. "Get ready to go all-out!"

A chorus of affirmatives was her answer, as the quartet were enveloped in sparkling green, pink, blue and gold lights, followed by an electric-blue light engulfing Satsuki.

" _Tsurugi no Sō: Ōgi Kaigan!_ " {剣の装: 奥義開眼}

" _Kanade no Sō: Saishū Gakushō!_ " {奏の装: 最終楽章}

" _Saguru no Sō: Shinri Kyumei!_ " {探の装: 真理究明}

" _Shibari no Sō: Gashin Kaihō!_ " {真理究明: 我心開放}

" _Jin'i Ittai: Kamui Junketsu!_ " {人衣一体: 神衣純潔}

The 'Elite Four' and their mistress stood strong, the latter's _Kamui_ now more concealing than its original skimpy design, like Ryūko's. They, Mako, and Ryūko came together, striking a stunning pose and calling out:

" _Honnōji Academy's Seven Devas, in attendance!-!_ " {本能寺学園七天王, ここに見参!-!}

"Wow~!" Cure Heart stared with gleeful awe. " _So cool~!_ "

"Oh, come _on_!" Mammo shouted. "Where the hell did they all come from?!"

"…POINTLESS" King Jikochuu growled. "NO MATTER HOW MANY OF YOU THERE ARE, IT WON'T BE ENOUGH."

"We'll just see about that!" Cure Heart shouted back. "We're going to knock some sense into you, and protect this city, this _world_! I swear on my title as Cure Heart, my legacy as a Pretty Cure, and my position as Ōgai Academy Student Present that _we! Will! Not! Lose!-!_ "

After several seconds of silence, a point where dramatic music would likely be echoing out…

"…Um, Mana?" Cure Diamond spoke up. "There are news helicopters and cameras recording all this. You just outed yourself to _the entire city_."

"…Eh? … _Ehhh?!_ "

"And since everyone who knows you knows who's always hanging out with you…" Cure Sword started.

Cure Shade sighed. "Jeez. Cat's outta the bag now…"

A squadron of vulture-type Jikochuu and a troop of gorilla-type Jikochuu rallied and began to approach, with Bel and Mammo making ready to lead them.

"Alright…" Ryūko readied her blade, reactivating her Stage-1 Chakra Cloak. "Let's split into teams and handle this! Jakuzure, go with Mana! Gamagoori, with Alice! Mako, Ira, help Rikka! Sanageyama, you and Makoto carve 'em up! Inumuta, cover Aguri! Regina, _née-chan_ , with me! _Let's go!-!_ "

She sent out her Vulpix and Pangoro for some extra firepower, while Satsuki let out her own Pokémon partners: a Pawniard with blue coloration instead of red, blades sharp and bared, and a Froslass that already had Ice-type energy charged and ready. The whole group charged, splitting into their assigned groups, and explosions rang out as Jikochuu began to fall in droves.

A double-blast from Nonon's shoulder-mounted cannons crashed into a vulture-type that tried to divebomb Cure Heart, who returned the favor with a Heart Dynamite that caught three more of the attacking birds and purified them. A burst of light from Ai-chan shot up into the battlefield, split in two and infused into Ryūko & Satsuki's Scissor Blades, granting them the ability to purify Jikochuu, which they quickly put to good use with help from Cure Shade's glaive. Cure Sword and Sanageyama made mincemeat out of anything that got within range, while Cure Rosetta's shields and attack-reflections left Jikochuu wide open for Gamagoori's spike-whips and mighty fists to terminate. Ace Shots and electrified cable strikes knocked vultures out of the sky, and froze, blasted, and smashed everything in their way. And all the while, people all over the city were cheering the heroes on, giving them (especially the Cures) strength and will to keep moving forward.

The next major enemy to fall was Shadow-Lust, sliced in two vertically by Satsuki's Scissor Blade. The rest soon followed – Shadow-Gula's head was blown off by a point-blank shot from Jakuzure's cannons, and Ira hit Shadow-Gouma with a time-delayed blast that went off inside and blew the revenant-shade apart. Now only Bel and Mammo remained to fight for their King. Knocked back by a blow from Mako, landing beside Mammo, Bel groaned as he got back to his feet… and binds of solid Shadow magic formed around his legs, anchoring him in place. Looking up, he saw Cure Shade charging a great deal of Light magic into the Miracle Dragon Glaive, which was pointed right at him and Mammo. The blast fired, a roaring wave of Light racing towards him.

'He's strong enough to break the shadow-binds,' Regina thought, 'but not quickly enough to avoid being hit. Despite your laziness, Bel, you were always the rottenest, meanest of the Selfish Generals. Well now, you'll never be able to hurt anyone again!'

And then, something happened that nobody saw coming. Bel's free left arm lanced out, grabbed a surprised Mammo's wrist as she was about to leap away… and threw her forward, off her feet and right into the attack's path. Mammo barely had time to register an expression of shocked horror on her face before the blast from the Glaive engulfed her, a massive explosion of Light power obliterating her. Using the seconds that bought him, Bel broke free of the Shadow Bind and escaped, slipping away. The heroes were staring in shock at what had just happened; Ira, Regina, and Cure Heart looked horrified.

"Ma…mmo…?" Ira whispered, eyes wide as can be, face pale. Though shaken, Cure Diamond came over to try and steady him.

"H-How… How _could_ he…?" Cure Heart whimpered. "His own teammate… His _comrade_ …"

"That… That disgusting, traitorous _coward_!" Ryūko snarled, her eyes glowing with Senketsu's chakra. "How _dare_ he?! She was his _teammate_! I haven't seen anyone do something so repugnant since… since…!"

"Since mother" Satsuki replied with a low, dangerous tone. "Throwing his comrade's life away to save his own hide… That man is rotten to the _core_."

"And now he's turned and ran with his tail between his legs," Gamagoori growled, "abandoning even his Master just to save himself."

"We'll track him down and take him out later" Jakuzure said. "Right now, we've got a much, _much_ bigger fish to fry…"

"INDEED" King Jikochuu spoke up. "I WILL PUNISH BELPHEGOR FOR HIS COWARDICE AND HIS TREASON AGAINST MY LOYAL ENFORCER AT A LATER TIME… AFTER I'VE FINISHED WITH ALL OF _YOU_ …"

In response, Cure Heart, Cure Ace, Cure Shade, and Ai flew up a few hundred feet, looking up at the towering behemoth.

"That's enough" Cure Heart spoke with a calm yet firm tone. "King Jikochuu… No… King of the Trump Kingdom!"

"THAT NAME MEANS _NOTHING_ NOW! REGINA! WHAT RABBLE DARES TO JOIN YOU IN STANDING AGAINST ME?!"

"I…" Cure Ace spoke "am Cure Ace… and Regina & I come from the same source: the two of us are the reincarnations of the two halves of Marie-Ange's Heart! Ai-chan is her body, her essence reborn! You must stop this madness! _Father!_ "

The beast's glowing red eyes widened. "AN…GE…?"

Then, a brilliant pink light began shining from within King Jikochuu's chest. The beast roared in pain, clutching at his heart.

"WHAT… WHAT IS THIS?! WHAT IS THIS LIGHT, THIS _PAIN_?! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

"How could you have forgotten?" Cure Heart said. "That light, that warmth… that's _love_. The love you hold for your daughter, and your people."

"LOVE… LOVE IS _MEANINGLESS! IT IS UNNECESSARY! I WILL DESTROY ALL OF THE 'LOVE' IN THIS WORLD!-!_ "

He swung his enormous fist at the girls… and, for a split-second, his body hesitated, giving them time to evade and get some distance. The enormous daemon groaned and snarled as his towering body shrank, down from his near-kilometer height to "only" about 110 meters. But his dark power was still enormous and virulent, and he roared as he charged a massive amount of dark power between his gaping, fanged jaws. Quickly, Cure Rosetta formed the biggest Rosetta Reflection she could, and everyone scrambled to get behind it. As the beam fired, she cried out from the incredible force shoving against her. The other Cures placed their hands on her back, trying to share their power, and it proved to be just enough; though the shield shattered, the beam was deflected up and away, decapitating the city's Clover Tower as it went.

"Papa is still in there!" Cure Shade announced. "He hasn't been completely lost to the Darkness yet!"

"She's right; we can reach him!" Cure Heart added. "I know we can!"

"But where is he?" Cure Sword asked.

"…Magical Lovely Pad! Show us where the true King lies!"

The pad's screen zoomed in on King Jikochuu's chest, delving inside to reveal that the inside was bigger than the outside somehow. It focused on a massive blackened Heart… and, embedded in the center of it, as if turned to stone, was the visage of the Trump Kingdom's King.

"Papa!" "Father!"

"He's inside…" Ira observed. "Wait, does that mean you girls are gonna try going in there?! That's way too dangerous!"

"We _have_ to" Cure Heart replied. "If we're going to truly win this battle, we have to save the King!"

"But how will you get in there?" Sanageyama asked. "The only way I can think of is through his mouth – his huge, fang-lined, energy-beam-shooting mouth."

"That's our only option. We just have to find a way to get in. We need to make an opening…"

"I think we can help with that" Ryūko spoke up. "Senketsu, you ready?"

"I thought you'd never ask" the clothing-avatar replied. "Everyone, you may wish to get some distance!"

Everyone complied, and Ryūko roared out as crimson chakra flared around her. There was an enormous burst of smoke and light, and a low growl sounded from within the smoke cloud. Everyone watched in awe as the smoke cleared to reveal Senketsu in all his glory, an enormous black-&-red furred, 6-tailed fox with forepaws that were more 'hands' than 'paws', multicolored eyes glowing as he let out a roar of challenge.

"A TAILED BEAST?" King Jikochuu spoke with some astonishment. "HERE, TO CHALLENGE _ME?_ "

"MY HOST AND I ARE ALLIES OF THE PRETTY CURES" Senketsu replied, as a transparent image of Ryūko appeared standing on his forehead. "WE STAND IN DEFENSE OF THIS WORLD! YOUR REIGN OF DESTRUCTION AND DARKNESS… _ENDS HERE!_ "

The _Bijū_ charged, dodging King Jikochuu's quick-fired energy blast and getting in close, hitting the giant with a right cross that sent him reeling, a thunderous shockwave racing through the area. King Jikochuu snarled as he regained his balance after staggering, and the two titans grappled, trying to gain enough leverage to unbalance or throw the other. One of Senketsu's long, thin, but deceptively strong tails came over and around, wrapped around King Jikochuu's arm and yanked him down into a rising knee-strike that rocked the titan back & up, and then hit the Tailed Beast hit his opponent in the chest with a palm-strike that launched him back.

King Jikochuu fired a blast of dark-purple energy from his mouth, but Senketsu leapt high into the air to dodge, and then rolled forward into a whirling wheel of shredding fire that crashed down into the evil giant, grinding and burning. Once his _Kaenguruma_ attack's momentum was spent, Senketsu moved into a grapple, and then sank his fire-wreathed fangs into the monster's shoulder. King Jikochuu roared in pain and fury… and the six Cures and Ai took the opportunity given to them, flying in through his open mouth and delving into the dark-magic space within him. A squadron of vulture-type Jikochuu tried to follow them in, but a strike from one of Senketsu's massive tails sent them hurtling clear across the city.

Inside, a horde of Jikochuu standing in the team's way necessitated Diamond, Rosetta, & Sword staying back to handle them, leaving just Heart, Ace, Shade, and Ai-chan to progress further in. Soon, they reached the central chamber, and against the far wall was a massive black heart-shaped 'Psyche', with the petrified form of the King half-embedded into it. As they began to approach, however, a swarm of purplish humanoid figures emerged to bar their path.

"W-What the heck are these?" Cure Heart asked.

"We are Jikochuu Cells," one of them announced, "here to destroy the 'germs' invading our King's body."

"Who you callin' a germ?!" Cure Shade fired a blasé from her Dragon Glaive, obliterating several Jikochuu Cells. In response, about a dozen of them came together, merging and melding, taking the form of a giant, muscular, smoky-gray version. The beast shrugged off an Ace Shot, and then led its smaller fellows in bombarding the girls with a hailstorm of dark-purple energy blasts from all directions, too much for the girls to block or dodge. When the barrage cut off, the girls were left groaning, battered and beaten, barely staying in the air.

The compound Jikochuu Cell chuckled. "What did you girls think you could accomplish? Coming all the way in here, where the Darkness is strongest, did you actually think you could prevail? You will perish here, and our selfishness will enshroud this world!"

"Not yet…" Cure Heart straightened up. "We're not giving in yet! We're not giving up, _ever_! So long as our hearts beat, and breath remains in our bodies!"

"We came to save papa," Cure Shade gripped her weapon, "and we won't let anything stop us!"

The lead Jikochuu Cell laughed. "There's nothing left to save! Look at him! His soul is already _gone_!"

It fired a large beam of dark-purple energy at the girls… and then power suddenly flowed into and through Cure Heart, a wave of bright pink energy expanding out from her, nullifying the incoming attack, obliterating the lesser Jikochuu Cells and ripping the bigger one to shreds. At the same time, a voice rang out:

" _Don't you… touch… my family…_ "

In the center of the massive grey heart, a spark of pink light shone forth, and then rapidly expanded out, turning the entire heart to a healthy sparkling pink. The petrified form of the King in the center began to move, eyes opening and hand twitching. Outside, as King Jikochuu got back up from being judo-thrown by Senketsu, he groaned and clutched at his chest, where brilliant pink light was shining forth.

Taking the opportunity, Cures Ace & Shade and Ai flew towards the heart. The lead Jikochuu Cell was trying to reform, growling and towering over Cure Heart with menace.

"Fools! You think you can 'save' him?! How could anyone forgive a man who was so selfish that he sacrificed his kingdom for his daughter's sake?!"

Suddenly, a flash of violet light sliced through the amorphous monster, tearing it to pieces.

"You're wrong" Cure Sword replied as she, Diamond, and Rosetta made themselves known. "Wanting to protect one's child… That isn't a selfish sin at all! _You_ are the ones responsible for all the chaos and destruction, and now you're _done!-!_ "

The trio who were once Princess Marie-Ange finally drew near, hands extended, and the King's hand came out to meet them, the shell around him beginning to crumble. They grabbed hold and pulled, and the 'stone' encasing the King shattered, the regal-looking man being pulled free. Outside, King Jikochuu let out an echoing roar of defiant but impotent fury as his body warped and compressed, and then with a giant heart-shaped pink flash he vanished, the sky overhead returning to its normal blue.

The people's cheers rang out across the city, knowing the PreCures had saved the day. Senketsu vanished, returning to immaterial form within Ryūko, who somewhat-unsteadily hovered down to the ground, panting for breath but with a grin on her face.

"I _knew_ these girls were the type to do the impossible…" she said proudly.

"Pretty familiar, huh?" Satsuki asked as she came up to support her sister, the two of them watching as the Cures, Ai, and the freed King descended back to the ground. The royal man held Ace, Shade, and Ai close, tears of joy in his eyes and theirs. As the rest of the hero gang gathered around, more people came running: Mana's family, Rikka's parents, Alice's parents and Sebastian, and Aguri's adoptive grandmother.

"My little girl…" Rikka's mother held the girl tight. "I'm so proud of you… You and your friends have been fighting to protect us all, this whole time?"

"It was tough sometimes…" Cure Diamond admitted. "But… I've learned so much, experienced so much… so, I guess you could say it was worth it."

"Alice…" the rich girl's father said. "You've become so strong, so brave…"

"My strength comes from my friends" Cure Rosetta replied with a smile. "It always has."

"It's not over yet~!"

The joyful mood was suddenly interrupted, everyone looking up in shock to see Bel hovering overhead, holding in his hands a tiny blob of Darkness with a mean face on it.

"King Jikochuu… What a pitiful state you've been reduced to… But worry not; _I_ shall put your power to good use, and bring this 'love'-infested world to ruin!"

Then, before anyone could stop him, he tossed the 'nugget' of dark power into his mouth and gulped it down. Then, evil power began to surge around him, his eyes visible glowing through his sunshades.

"Yes…" he hissed. "At long last, _I'm_ Number One! _I'm the King now!-!_ "

He laughed wickedly as the dark power surged around him… and then choked and stiffened as it turned back around and engulfed him. He struggled, startled and panicking, as the evil energy cocooned him, and then he vanished from sight as it became opaque, shifting and growing.

"He couldn't handle it…" Aguri's grandmother observed. "He got what he wanted, but it was too much for him. Serves him right…"

"Regardless," Inumuta replied, "he still may have just managed to screw us over…"

The mass soon achieved a defined form – a muscular daemon with dark-purple flesh, humanoid in shape, around eight feet tall, with two large dark-red wings, six arms, a long thick tail with a barbed tip, a face with glowing red eyes & jagged maw framed by red markings, and a second mouth on his gut. The Trump King trembled.

"That's…"

"What is it, father?" Cure Ace asked.

"The ancient evil defeated by Cure Empress, Cure Magician, and Cure Priestess 10 millennia ago, the entity responsible for corrupting me and spreading so much chaos and destruction… Proto-Jikochuu!"

"I see my reputation precedes me…" the daemon said with a fanged grin, middle arms folded. "Now, it is time to make this world – nay, the _Universe_ – belong to _me_!"

"Damn it…" Ryūko snarled. "I can't really use Senketsu's chakra again yet. This ain't gonna be pretty…"

"The world isn't yours yet!" Cure Heart shouted. "Not as long as we're here to defend it!"

Proto-Jikochuu chuckled as he looked down at the Cures and the 'Seven Devas' (and Ira & Ai). "This is all the stands against me? This… motley crew of 'warriors'? Very well… You will all know pain and terror, when I rip your Hearts from your bodies!"

He fired a crackling blast of dark power at the heroes, and when they scattered to dodge the ensuing explosion he went for Cure Rosetta, his punch shattering her barrier nigh-instantly and sending her flying. When Ryūko came at him from the side he blocked her blade-strikes with the spikes on his forearms and then slashed at her with his claws, knocking her back and tearing big, bloody gashes that her internal Life Fibers worked quickly to mend. A combined blast from Cure Ace and Jakuzure did little damage, and Proto-Jikochuu returned fire with twin blasts of Darkness energy that sent the duo flying even though they dodged it, the near-miss enough to knock them about.

Proto-Jikochuu held his primary left hand high, and several damaged multi-story buildings lifted up into the air, to the hero group's shock. Then, he waved the hand down, and the buildings shot down toward the group, forcing them to evade desperately. One almost crushed Cure Heart, but a Holy Sword from Makoto bisected the incoming building, saving her leader, while Satsuki channeled power through her Scissor Blade and did the same to protect Mako and Ira (not Gamagoori, the 'local' Ira). Evading the giant projectiles, Cure Shade fired a blast from the Dragon Glaive at Proto-Jikochuu, who fired a shot from his belly-mouth that clashed against and then pierced right through the Glaive's energy wave, the backblast blowing Cure Shade back.

The Cure sextet tried to rally, grouping up and firing a Royal Lovely Straight Flush, but Proto-Jikochuu just crossed his arms and chuckled as the purifying Light energy washed over him to absolutely zero effect. Then, he moved faster than any of them could see, smashing all six girls down into the ground and making sizable craters. As Ira and Inumuta hurried to check on them, Gamagoori and Sanageyama tried to catch Proto-Jikochuu in a pincer move, but the daemon used just one of its three right hands to catch Gamagoori's blow while moving all three left arms lightning-fast to block and parry Sanageyama's flurry of blows. He then blasted both of them away, then grabbed hold of Jakuzure when he tried to divebomb her, spun her around and flung her down into the ground.

Cure Heart flew back up, engaging Proto-Jikochuu in a quick exchange of blows, but her overwhelmed her and then conjured a continuous barrage of red & black lighting-form Darkness energy. He grinned with wicked glee as she screamed, watching the Darkness begin to encroach on her Heart… and then let out a strangled cry as Ryūko's Scissor Blade slashed across his throat. Ryūko grabbed Cure Heart and flew her back down to the others, while Proto-Jikochuu clutched at his throat; the dark magic of his body was quickly working to mend the wound, and he glared down at the red & black heroine with hatred.

"Nothing's working" Jakuzure growled. "Damn it, we're hitting this guy with everything we've got and he's just _ignoring_ it all!"

"Even all of us combined aren't enough to make him do much more than flinch…" Cure Diamond complained.

"…Wait a minute" Cure Shade said. "Combined… That's it! Diamond, Rosetta, Sword, Ace… Why don't we try transferring our power, everything we can spare, to Cure Heart? All of us attacking individually isn't much…"

"…But one person wielding all six of you girls' power levels combined might be a different story!" Mako concluded. "Worth a shot, right?"

The five Cures gathered around Cure Heart, who opened her heart and mind to them as they poured their magical Light power into her. Then, the Magical Lovely Pad, Ace's Eternal Golden Crown, and Shade's Miracle Dragon Glaive turned into golden light and flowed into Cure Heart as well. Heart was enveloped in a surging pink & gold aura as her costume changed – the pink lightened in shade, her skirt lengthened and gained more white to it, a glittering white cape formed on her, feathered golden wings sprouted from her heart-shaped brooch, and a golden crown appeared atop her head.

"Cure Heart: _Parthenon Mode!_ "

The others stared in awe as they felt how outrageously high her power level had climbed. Proto-Jikochuu could feel it too, his jaw slightly dropped as he felt the urge to shield his eyes from the pure Light radiating from her. She flew up to meet him, looked at him with a challenging glare, and he charged, roaring out as he punched… and she casually caught his fist like nothing, the shockwave moving on past her to flatten a fallen building.

"You're not thinking things through" she told him. "Being selfish is about inconveniencing others for your own gain. But… If you rule everything, and get rid of everyone else, you _can't_ be selfish because there'll be nobody else _to_ inconvenience."

"S… Shut up! You little-"

Proto-Jikochuu tried to punch again, but Heart threw him down at the ground, sending him bouncing across the rubble before regaining his footing. He looked up, and she was already there; his quick attempt at a punch was countered by her own, and he was sent skidding back. Furious, he struck with a barrage of punches from all six arms, his limbs a blur, but Parthenon Heart dodged his blows, effortlessly moving so fast that she left afterimages. She flipped behind him, and when he quick-fired a Darkness blast she again seemed to phase away through sheer speed. He looked down to see her beneath him, a serene look on her face as her leg lifted and coiled…

The ensuing kick had such force behind it that Proto-Jikochuu broke the sound barrier on his way up, piercing through a cloud on the way, with Parthenon Heart in pursuit. By the time he finally regained control he was nearly 60,000 feet up, and barely had time to notice her coming before she hit him with a focused blast of Wind magic that sent him spinning.

'She's totally different from before!' he thought as he looked up, seeing her illuminated by Earth's Moon. Desperate and enraged, he fired a massive Darkness wave from his belly-mouth, and Parthenon Heart was swallowed up by it… and then Proto-Jikochuu's eyes widened as he saw her cutting straight through the attack with an incoming heel-drop kick. The impact sent him careening back down to the earth, crashing into the ocean just off the coast with such momentum that he 'lightly' hit the seabed.

After several seconds, Proto-Jikochuu emerged from beneath the waves with an enraged roar. He began to charge at her, flying low across the waves… and flew right into her hypercharged 'My Sweet Heart' blast, the pink heart-shaped energy enveloping him and stopping him cold. He groaned as he fought against the purifying energy.

"Yes…" he said. "History truly is repeating itself. As long as selfishness remains in the Hearts of humanity, I will revive. Over and over again!"

"…I know" Heart replied. "Even I have some selfish thoughts in my Heart."

"W… What?"

"I've had thoughts of running away from my problems, on wanting to rely on others when I'm feeling weak… But, that hardship, that pain, is what makes people stronger. And, even if I have a moment of weakness, my _friends_ are by my side, always willing to help me. With them beside me… no matter what, I can always stand back up and keep going!"

Reaching his limit, Proto-Jikochuu finally succumbed to the overwhelming purification magic, being consumed and erased. The countless captive Hearts that had been giving him power were cleansed, fluttering their way through the still-present (and now self-stabilized) rift connecting this Realm and the Trump Kingdom's, to restore that land's people. The battle damage, darkened skies, and ravages of war caused to the Trump Kingdom and Oogai City were repaired and undone by a glittering light from the heavens.

As Parthenon Heart flew back to the others, she released the donated power, reverting to her normal state, the Golden Crown and Dragon Glaive returning to their respective wielders. She then de-transformed, exhausted but with a big elated grin on her face, as the other girls dispelled their Cure forms and group-hugged her, the DDF people looking on happily.

"Welp, all's well that ends well, I suppose" Sanageyama remarked. "Man, things got pretty crazy there for a while…"

Suddenly, the heroes felt a weak, Dark signature nearby. With a shimmer of air, Bel appeared, looking battered and exhausted. With a growl, he glared hatefully at the shocked heroes, holding out his hand and conjuring a serrated sword.

"Cure Heart…" he growled weakly. "You've ruined _everything_ …"

The Cures began to reach for their Communes, only for Satsuki to hold out a hand. "I will deal with this" she said, brandishing her Scissor Blade. Bel charged, and Satsuki started off on the defense, calmly blocking and parrying his wild, rage-fueled swings & thrusts. She then pressed the attack, forcing him back and battering at his guard. Bel was drained after being possessed by Proto-Jikochuu and barely surviving the ensuing purification, and it was clear he was quickly being overwhelmed.

Finally, Bel made a mistake, trying to break off from Satsuki and fire a Darkness blast at Mana. Satsuki's Froslass, waiting on the sidelines, fired a Shadow Ball that intercepted the shot, while her Trainer then hit Bel's arm with enough force to break it and cancel the attack he'd been charging, and then rammed her Scissor Blade through his chest. Bel let out a strangled cry, trying to gasp at the blade buried in his torso, and then Satsuki yanked it out and kicked him down. The Selfish General went still, his body disintegrating into motes of Darkness, and Satsuki spat spitefully at where he'd fallen.

"And with that," she announced, "this whole mess is finally over and done with."

"That means it's time to _celebrate_!" Mana shouted. "We gotta put together a 'We Saved the World' party!"

"That does sound nice" Jonathan replied as he and the King walked up. "Though, do remember that this victory wasn't without cost…"

That sorta killed the mood amongst the group.

"Damn it…" Ira mumbled. "Mammo… I can't help but think… that if Regina and I changed, maybe she could've too. But because of Bel, we'll never know…"

"And… the Princess…" Makoto said softly, tears starting to build in her eyes.

Suddenly, motes of Light began to coalesce in front of the group. Jonathan, the King and the Cures gasped as the Light formed into a spectral image of Princess Marie-Ange, smiling warmly at them.

"An…" Jonathan said.

"P… Princess?" Makoto stared, eyes wide.

" _Well done, PreCure…_ " the woman's spirit spoke to the group. " _At long last, peace has been returned to our world and yours, thanks to your efforts. The Selfish Kingdom will never again pose a threat to harmony and freedom. However… I am sorry, but I am unable to return as I once was._ "

The King gasped, feeling the tears begin to build in his eyes, even as he held Regina & Aguri close.

" _Aguri and Regina… Born from the two halves of my Heart, they have become complete individuals in their own right, their Hearts full of love and Light. For me to return, they and Ai-chan would have to cease to exist. I cannot do that to them, not when they have all that they do now. Their lives are their own now… Please, look after them, Father._ "

"But… But Princess!" Makoto cried out in a pleading voice, already shedding tears. "Please! I… Y-You're the closest thing I had to a mother! I went through so much to find you, to _save_ you! I can't… I can't sing in a world without you!"

" _Cure Sword…_ " Marie-Ange's specter caressed Makoto's tear-stained cheek. " _My times with you were so joyful… But, you have so many other people who love you now. Let them be your strength. Don't let my death take your voice away from you. Share your beautiful song with the world. Ai-chan has my life essence within her, so in a way I will always be with you…_ "

The Princess' spirit then turned to her fiancé. " _Jonathan… The times we spent together gave me more joy than I ever thought possible. Thank you, my love, for giving me such happiness. I'm so sorry it had to end this way…_ "

The man couldn't bring himself to speak, simply giving his lost love a nod.

Marie-Ange's form began to fade, motes of Light coming away from her. " _Father… Jonathan… PreCure… Thank you… and goodbye…_ "

With that, the image of her spirit broke apart into motes of Light, shimmering and sparkling in the sunlight. Makoto fell to her knees sobbing, her teammates gathering around to comfort her.

- _Break_ -

Things were still a little hectic in the aftermath, questions and explanations being passed about. At the moment, the Cure group and their supporters were gathered at Jonathan's shop.

"After we finish cleanup," Ryūko said, "we should get ready to make a little trip. We're supposed to meet up on a TSAB colony world with some of our people, including the other three PreCure teams being helped & recruited right now, as well as the three we already have come to welcome the new additions."

"Seven Pretty Cure teams…" Jonathan breathed out, still astonished at the idea.

The King, meanwhile, was lost in thought even as he sat between his daughters. Being told by the DDF of what sort of enemies they were up against, a rogue Keyblade Master and the evil bearer of the Triforce of Power, was a worrisome revelation. Still, there was a vast array of powerful and noble heroes ready to stand against them, with the Cures ready to help…

On the outskirts of the city, a man clad in a black cloak sighed as he brought up a checklist; a few names and titles were checked off, and he brought out a pen and crossed out 'Jikochuu'.

"So much for _that_ idea…" Xigbar grumbled. "Again we show up plannin' to ask around for new recruits only to find they've already been taken out by the DDF and the local 'heroes'… Better move onto the next one. And maybe the boss-man will get to askin' that one lady if she wants to team up soon. What was her name again… Salem? Eh, whatever…"

Space warped as The Freeshooter teleported out.

 **-** ** _CHAPTER END_** **-**

And so ends Part 1 of the fic. Part 2, _Happiness Charge_ , is next. The DDF representative being sent to help the _Happiness Charge_ Cures is going to show up right after the events of Episode… 17 or 18, probably, which means I'll need time to watch up to that point, so there might be a wait before the next chapter.


	6. Happiness Charge 1

I decided to start after Episode 15 instead.

 **PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** ** _CHAPTER START_** **-**

 **Realm PC-8**

Megumi Aino, presently in the form of Cure Lovely, leapt to dodge a smashing attack from Oresky's newest Saiaku. She glanced over at Cure Princess and Cure Honey, seeing that they were okay, having shrugged off the hits they'd recently taken with minimal damage. Just yesterday, the trio (and their fairy partner Ribbon) had undertaken a perilous journey through one of Blue's mirror portals to Hime's home-world, the 'Blue Sky Kingdom', in order to deliver cupcakes to her trapped mother for Mother's Day. That land was fully under the Phantom Empire's control, such that the dark magic in the air reduced the Cures' powers to a fraction of their full strength. They'd barely gotten out alive.

Now, back in their hometown of Pikarigaoka, the girls were back at full strength. Oresky's Saiaku tended to be a little stronger and tougher than Namekelda's and Hosshiiwa's, but the three of them working together should be able to bring the monster down and purify it. They got ready as the Saiaku roared out and prepared to charge at them…

Then, out of nowhere, a high-velocity arrow streaked in and stuck into the Saiaku's chest. And then, to everyone's surprise, the arrow exploded, blasting the dark monster back. Oresky then rolled to the side, barely avoiding another arrow that had been aimed right between his eyes. They all looked in the direction the arrows had come from, and saw a girl around 9 or 10 years old, with tanned or brown skin, pale-pink hair done up in a tight bun, and gold-colored eyes, wearing a ragged-edged red cloak over a scandalously revealing black top & short-shorts (barely more than panties, really), along with boots and fingerless gloves. She was holding a large black longbow, and they could all sense she was brimming with magical power.

"Who is she?" Cure Lovely wondered. "What's with that bow?"

"What's with that _outfit_?" Cure Princess chimed in. "Someone that young shouldn't be wearing somethin' like _that_!"

"Who is this?" Oresky asked. "Another new PreCure? One who looks rather young, with an outfit quite different from the others…"

"I'm not a Pretty Cure" the girl replied. "Though, I do come as their ally. Long story short, there is a group of heroes and civilizations from many different universes who have banded together to form the 'Dimensional Defense Force', an alliance that travels the Realms, helping people and stopping bad guys. We already have three other Pretty Cure teams from three other Realms, and recently we detected four new universes with Cures in them; I was sent to help this Realm's Cure team. My name is Chloe von Einzbern; call me 'Kuro'!"

Kuro flash-stepped down to beside the Cure trio, and then with twin flashes of scintillating red light she summoned a pair of swords, mirror images of each other in black and white. She charged at the Saiaku, easily weaving around its startled attempt to shoot at her, and as it punched at her she dodged and moved up its arm while spinning rapidly with swords out, buzz-sawing her way up toward its head. She threw her blades, and they curved through the air and converged on either side of the Saiaku's head, detonating on contact. As the wounded monster stumbled back, Kuro conjured a 'Fake' of Future Trunks' longsword, slashing down across the Saiaku's chest and then blasting it with a point-blank Buster Cannon. By now, the Saiaku was in bad shaped, unsteady on its feet. Kuro turned to the awed Cures.

"Oi, PreCures!" she called out. "I don't have purification magic! I can't actually finish this thing off!"

Shaking off her daze, Cure Princess stepped forward, firing her 'Blue Happy Shoot' finisher at the Saiaku, cleansing it and freeing the person it had been made from. Letting out an annoyed grunt, Oresky teleported away.

"So," Cure Lovely turned to Kuro, "you're an envoy for some kind of multi-universal alliance?"

The girl nodded. "Do we have a place where we can discuss things? Anybody else who needs to be informed?"

"We'll go back to the Blue-Sky Kingdom embassy" Ribbon replied. "Blue-sama will want to speak with you."

- _Break_ -

Megumi, Hime, Yuuko, and Seiji sat together on the couches in the embassy/house's living room, while Kuro – now in casual clothes – sat in one of the easy chairs, eyeing the blue-eyed, blue-haired man identified as Blue; he may have looked normal, but she could immediately sense his Divine nature the moment she laid eyes on him. Supposedly, he was this Realm's Earth's guardian deity, in addition to being the one who empowered this world's Pretty Cures…, who, as a break from what the DDF had expected, were A) in the dozens or even hundreds, scattered all over the world in their own little teams, and B) public knowledge.

"Kuro-chan, was it?" he asked. "The girls tell me you introduced yourself as a member of a multi-universal coalition of heroes and civilizations?"

The girl nodded. "The 'Dimensional Defense Force', we call ourselves" she replied. "We already have three Pretty Cure teams from three other Realms, and we were hoping to request the aid of this Realm's 'main' team and of three more Realms' groups. I got sent here. I wasn't expecting an entire planet of Pretty Cures, but… Something tells me Aino-san and her friends here are gonna get mixed up in some deep, major stuff down the line, so I'd like to stick with you guys and help out. I've got a collection of magically-recorded 'footage' that'll show all the backstory up to where we are now; you'll all get to watch it in a pocket-universe where days' worth of time inside translates to a handful of hours out here, and you won't need to eat or sleep or go to the bathroom while you're viewing it."

"So, what kind of bad guys are you fighting?" Megumi asked.

"Well… Before I tell you, you should know that plenty of our allies _and_ enemies have fictional counterparts in some Realms; plenty of our people from some universes have met people who were previously game or movie characters to them in real life. Right now, our major concern is a group called the Seekers of Darkness, led by a very powerful and skilled dark mage named Xehanort."

Megumi gasped, eyes wide as can be, with Seiji's reaction more subdued but still noticeable. "X-Xehanort? Kingdom Hearts?!"

Kuro nodded. "Yep. And he's got a partner in crime, one he rescued from a pocket-dimension prison; this big nasty called Ganondorf."

" _Ganondorf?!_ " Seiji shouted. "Seriously?! Xehanort and Ganondorf, working together?"

"Yeah. They've been kinda quiet lately. We think Old X is planning to make his next big move soon, and we wanna have as many warriors of the Light on hand as we can when he does. Of course, there are other threats out there, too – a Sangheili anti-human terrorist named 'Mdama, this one guy called Joker who's an old enemy of the Smile PreCure… Joker is _real_ bad news – strong, skilled, and the cruelest, evilest, most sadistic of all villains ever faced by any PreCure team in the multiverse. Recently we went to the Pokémon world, and he caused some _major_ chaos that we barely managed to contain…"

"The… The Pokémon world?!" Megumi's eyes lit up; Yuuko & Seiji were similarly surprised, while Hime just looked confused. "Does… Does that mean…"

Kuro smiled, and reached into her pocket, pulling out a pair of 'compressed' Pokéballs which expanded to their regular size. They opened, and with a flash of light Kuro's Rowlet emerged, letting out a soft coo as he stared up at the girls.

"Whoa~!" Hime had stars in her eyes. "What is this?! It's so _cuuute_ ~!"

"This is my starter partner" Kuro grinned. "And my other Pokémon is… trying to sneak up behind Seiji-kun for laughs."

The boy turned, and caught sight of a blur of motion as his would-be ambusher fled. The group turned back, and were surprised to see a Sneasel now sitting beside Kuro, giving her trainer a mildly annoyed look for spoiling her fun. Kuro offered the Dark/Ice-type one of the cookies that was on the table, and all was forgiven.

"Well," Blue spoke up, "I can't say this was expected, but I suppose we should be thankful for whatever help we can get. Looking forward to working with you, little miss Einzbern."

"…I should let you guys know one thing: as you noticed, my transformation doesn't disguise my identity. If I'm going to be fighting beside you, I can't be seen hanging out with your civilian selves in public. At least, not if you want your secret identities known to the world…"

"We can try and think of something" Blue said. "In the meantime, we have a spare bedroom here you could use."

"Thank you, Gaia-sama. I-I mean 'Blue'-sama."

"You are from a world where the Earth's guardian entity is called Gaia? That… actually, doesn't really narrow things down much, to be honest; from what I've seen via scrying, 'Gaia' being the Earth deity's title is somewhat common."

"And one more thing you all should know, so you won't be surprised when you watch the magic footage; I'm… kinda, sort of a… reformed enemy of my world's 'main heroine'. So, the first time you'll see me, I'll be, um… t-trying to kill her…"

The local kids' eyes widened. "Well…" Seiji said. "It's not _that_ uncommon, the main hero turning enemies into friends…"

"I was… in a bad place, mentally, at the time…" the dark-skinned girl admitted with bashful shame. "You'll see what I mean."

- _Break_ -

A few hours later, after the 'footage' viewing was done, the local group sat about dwelling on everything they'd learned, discussing various matters. They learned about the DDF's present enemies, about everything the various Realms had been through before and after meeting… They also learned of Kuro's origins, gaining an understanding of the girl, and feeling thankful they had her help, and sure that despite her quirks, she was trustworthy.

"Still…" Megumi murmured. "The dilemma, the choice they were faced with regarding Miyu-chan… When she made her choice known to save Miyu over that world… Kuro didn't even hesitate to choose that."

"She's the type who fights with valor and determination worthy of a Pretty Cure to protect those she cares about," Ribbon remarked, "but… _only_ for those she cares about."

"Perhaps spending time here, amongst us, will help her gain a better understanding and appreciation for those outside her inner circle" Blue mused. "At the very least, her versatility and raw power will be of great help to us."

"And let's hope none of the DDF's enemies show up to make trouble before we're good enough to handle them" Hime sighed. "Still, I don't know why she was so upset about bein' in those outfits Medea dressed her in; she looked _perfect_ in them!"

"Don't let _her_ hear you say that" Seiji replied. "She looked pretty mortified… Even though she goes around fighting in the kind of outfit that's _way_ too 'mature' for a 10-year-old… At least she doesn't have to 'recharge mana' from other people anymore after what happened to her in the final battle on her world."

"Still…" Megumi smiled. "Kingdom Hearts, Pokémon, other universes' Pretty Cures… I'm so excited!"

"This should throw the Phantom Empire for quite a loop" Yuuko chimed in, grinning at the thought of their enemies trying desperately to figure out what was happening.

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

Over the next few days, Kuro settled in, learning what she could about the enemies the 'local' Cures faced, as well as getting to know them better. Thankfully, she & they were getting along quite well so far. Still, she was concerned about two things: the 'PreCure Hunter' known as Phantom, currently going around the world defeating and capturing Cures, and the mysterious 'Cure Fortune' who seemed to be rather belligerent, especially toward Hime for some reason…

Then, however, the Cure Trio met an unexpected new hurdle: Masuko Miyo, host of 'PreCure Weekly', was dead-set on uncovering the Happiness Charge Cures' identities and getting an exclusive interview, and her investigative skills led her to deduce not only that they were students at the middle school, but to all but confirm that Megumi, Hime, and Yuuko were who she was seeking.

When Miyo went so far as to show up at Megumi's house, Megumi had enough, using her 'Reporter' Change Card to give the nosy woman a taste of her own medicine. After they'd both calmed down, Miyo confessed as to how she sought to get close to the Pretty Cures in hopes of becoming one, a hope she'd held since being saved by Cure Tender during the early days of the conflict with the Phantom Empire. Moved by the woman's earnest desire, Megumi revealed herself as Cure Lovely (to Seiji's exasperation) and brought her to the Blue-Sky Embassy to meet with the others and ask Blue about what to do.

"Hm?" the reporter noticed the tan-skinned little girl laying on the smaller couch, presently absorbed in a book. "Who's this?"

"Apparently," Yuuko replied, "there are other universes out there with heroes in them, and several of those universes have made contact and joined forces to help each other. Recently, that organization detected this Realm and three others with their own Pretty Cure teams, and they sent Kuro-chan here to help us."

"It was a bit of a surprise to learn Pretty Cures are a multiversal thing" Hime said. "They've already got three universes' Cure teams. Though, it seems our world is unique for having lots and lots of Cures all over the world, _and_ having them be so widely known."

"Unfortunately," Kuro spoke up, "the fact my transformation doesn't disguise my identity cuts down on my ability to help and be with these girls as much as I'd like. …I wouldn't mind giving an interview later, though."

Once Blue (having been informed of what was going on) arrived, he produced one of the pearl-like reddish-pink gems that was meant to respond to a dormant Pretty Cure candidate's power and allow them to 'awaken' to their new purpose. Miyo took hold of the crystal, holding it to her heart, focusing her earnest desires and hopes into it…

…And nothing happened. She waited, focused harder, but the gem remained dull and quiet. An expression of disappointment and despair, of someone whose hopes have been crushed, came upon the young woman's face. With a polite bow and a listless apology for bothering them, she made her exit.

"…I'm worried about her now" Megumi said. "She seemed so devastated…"

'I cannot quite understand why the crystal would reject her…' Blue thought. '…Perhaps… she has some other, important role to fill that a Pretty Cure cannot do?'

A few minutes later, while the gang was discussing things, a Saiaku was detected being spawned by Namekelda at the park. Megumi, Hime, and Yuuko headed out to take care of it, and Kuro was about to follow when a _second_ Saiaku, this one made by Hosshiiwa, sprang up near an apartment complex.

"Damn…" Kuro gritted her teeth. "Guess I'm handling this one. I'll have to keep it busy until the girls finish with theirs so they can 'cleanse' it."

"I will accompany you" Blue said to her, to her surprise. "I possess purification magic. If you can weaken the Saiaku, I can finish it off. Come, we will use the mirror-room's portals to get there quicker."

Nodding, Kuro followed Blue into the 'mirror room', then let him lead her by the hand through a portal that deposited them beside the apartment complex. The Saiaku was rampaging nearby, with a squad of Choiaku as support. As the minions noticed Kuro & Blue and charged, Kuro didn't even bother Tracing a weapon, charging her body with magical power and using blitz-fast crushing blows to knock them senseless; her 'pseudo-Sharingan' didn't have regular red Sharingan power-copying abilities, but did grant her those famous eyes' enhanced superhuman perception and the ability to see the flow of certain types of otherwise-invisible energies, helping her make short work of the Choiaku. To speed the process up, she released her Sneasel, who was all too happy to start bringing Choiaku to their knees with Icy Winds and Night Slashes. Some of them rushed at Blue, but the incarnated deity's eyes flashed, and a mighty shockwave of pure force sent them flying, putting them down for the count. The Saiaku took notice, and in response Kuro summoned a huge, bandage-wrapped weapon that looked as much 'club' as 'sword':

"Trace, On: _Samehada!_ "

The Saiaku fired an energy blast, and in response Kuro timed her swing to catch the blast; instead of deflecting it, the copy of the infamous living sword _ate_ the energy, wriggling beneath its bandages as it feasted on the power. Then, she made a lunging leap forward, bashing/slashing the Saiaku in the chest with her weapon, the bandages being torn away to reveal the jagged gray scales that shredded across the monster's upper body, wounding and stunning it.

The Saiaku swung at her, and she used its arm as a springboard to jump high & back, releasing a trio if _Suiton: Suikōdan_ projectiles down at it. The dark monster stumbled back as the water-sharks slammed into it, and tried to rally and counterattack only to be caught off-guard by an Ice Shard attack to the face. Then, Kuro 'Broke' her Traced weapon and threw it down at the Saiaku. The resulting explosion, coming from the Breaking of such a high-level weapon ( _Samehada_ was essentially on par with a Noble Phantasm in power), was considerably powerful, leaving the Saiaku stunned and wounded.

Blue held his hand high, and a pillar of glittering light shone down from above and engulfed the Saiaku. The dark monster floated up, and then vanished in a burst of light; the 'sweet-aforming' it had done was reversed and erased, and the human trapped in a dark mirror by its creation was freed.

"I'd say that went pretty well" Blue said with a smile. "And I can sense that the Happiness Charge Cures have dealt with their opponent also."

"Let's head back before anything else happens while we're out. …And maybe we can swing by the candy store? Seeing all those sweets that thing conjured made me hungry…"

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

After an incident involving a rather durable karate-themed Saiaku, the Cure Trio and Seiji were invited to help prepare a wedding that would be held at Yuuko's family's restaurant. Kuro had to hang around in the background and watch from afar, lest her presence give the girls' identities away (especially since she'd recently given Masuko Miyo an exclusive interview explaining the bare basics of her presence). For the bride, some of Megumi's friends handled getting 'something old' and 'something new', while Hime prepared a bouquet of blue roses for 'something blue'. The 'something borrowed' came from Iona Hikawa, on behalf of her MIA older sister Maria who was a close friend of the bride's.

The wedding seemed to be going off without a hitch, the happy couple saying their vows. The bride tossed the bouquet… and Hosshiiwa appeared from out of nowhere, catching it and passing it to one of her many Choiaku as they appeared as well. Hosshiiwa then made a Saiaku out of the bride & groom, a bride-themed Saiaku that began reformatting the immediate area as the civilians fled.

Megumi, Hime, & Yuuko transformed, while Kuro leapt into the fray beside them. The four heroines charged into the horde of Choiaku, Kuro conjuring a naginata. The quartet quickly bulldozed through the minions, laying some out and cleansing others. In response, the Saiaku went on the attack, swinging its bouquet-club in an attempt to smash Cure Lovely. She rolled to the side and conjured a giant fist made of pink magical energy, firing it at the Saiaku's face; the monster recoiled and stumbled back, but quickly recovered.

The Choiaku tried to rally and get in the Cures' way again, but Cure Honey used her Coconuts Samba form to force the minions to dance to the point of exhaustion, putting many them out of the fight. Meanwhile, the Saiaku pushed Cures Lovely & Princess back, hammering the latter with a blow that sent her tumbling across the grass. Kuro was about to get serious, when suddenly a lavender star-shaped magic blast came flying in, hitting the Saiaku and blasting it back.

"Pull yourselves together!" Cure Fortune shouted at the HC Cures. "You want to protect this wedding, don't you?!"

She formed her outfit's lower-back bow into wings and rushed at the Saiaku, flying low & fast, flitting around the monster's attempt to crush her and hammered its head with a barrage of kicks. Not willing to let Fortune have all the fun, Kuro and Cure Lovely fired a Lovely Beam and a Fire-type _Sagitta Magica_ barrage (Fire was Kuro's affinity, and she already had some attacks/spells that she didn't need to Trace anything to use), blasting the Saiaku back.

"PreCure: _Tsūtenkyaku_!"

Cure Fortune looked up in surprise as Cure Princess came down from a high leap above with her newest-made move, a full-power heel-drop kick that hammered down onto the Saiaku's head, forcing it to faceplant into the dirt hard enough to leave a crater. The Choiaku rallied, trying to protect their 'leader', but in response Princess changed to her 'Macadamia Hula Dance' form, using its magic dance to force the Choiaku to dance a lazy hula…

"What… the heck…?" Kuro murmured as she and Cure Fortune stared in bemusement at all the enemies, Hosshiiwa, and Cures Lovely & Honey all caught in the technique's effect as well, swaying and waving their arms in the hula. "Why aren't _we_ affected?"

"I… don't know…" Cure Fortune admitted. "Whatever reason, though, I'm glad for it…"

"Cure Honey~," Cure Princess said, still dancing and making the Choiaku dance as well, "this one's all yours!"

Shaking off the magic dance's effects, Cure Honey brought her baton out, using her Sparkling Baton Attack to conjure a huge clover-shaped mass of magical power from low orbit and drop it down on the Saiaku ("Jeez, talk about overkill…" Kuro murmured), purifying it. Afterward, Cure Fortune faced the group.

"You need to keep it together more in these fights" she told the other Cures.

"We get it, we get it" Cure Princess sighed. "We rallied at the end, didn't we?"

Fortune glared. "I don't expect anything from _you_ , Princess."

"Hey," Kuro frowned at the girl, "what's with the attitude? You tryin' to start somethin'?"

Cure Fortune looked at the young girl, recognizing her from the recent exclusive interview with Masuko Miyo – a dimensional traveler, come to help the Happiness Charge Cures, possessing the power to materialize bladed weapons and use techniques associated with them… Letting out an annoyed sigh, Fortune turned and then flew away, leaving the girls behind.

"Bitch…" Kuro murmured. "What's _her_ problem?"

"She probably has her reasons," Yuuko replied as she de-transformed. "Now, if only she could just _tell_ them to us…"

Hime fidgeted, trying not to draw attention to herself…

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

A couple days and a few 'minor' Saiaku later, the trio got called in by Seiji to help with a volunteer soccer team, and were mildly surprised to find Hikawa Iona involved as well. Despite some difficulties between Hime and Iona, the team seemed to be doing well enough. Then, however, Oresky showed up and made a Saiaku out of the soccer team captain, and then before the fight could even progress past the opening shots Cure Fortune jumped in as well. Cure Lovely managed to convince Fortune to work with the four heroines, and together the quintet brought the monster down, saving the team captain.

Now, as Megumi, Hime, Yuuko, and Seiji headed for home with Kuro stealthily following (she wondered if Blue could use those mystical powers of his to get her a pair of Mundus Magicus identity-disguising glasses…), Iona came running, catching up with them.

"Aino-san, Oomori-san… We worked well together today. We couldn't have won without that."

Megumi nodded with a smile. "We managed to pull off a win in the match by combining our strengths. Soccer is a team sport, after all…"

"That's not quite what I meant." She gave the girls a serious look. "I know who you girls are…"

Then, she pulled a familiar object, and the group stared in shock as a whirling lavender light engulfed her, dispelling to reveal Cure Fortune. A moment later, her fairy partner Glasan appeared beside her. Hime's eyes widened, and she took a step back.

"Cure Lovely, Cure Honey… I wish to join forces with you."

After a moment of shock, Megumi smiled brightly. "S-Sure! We could use all the help we can-"

"Hold on a moment!"

The girls and Seiji were startled as Kuro appeared, eyeing Cure Fortune suspiciously.

"You mentioned Lovely and Honey," she said, "but what about Cure Princess? What about Hime? …Do you actually _want_ to be part of the team, to be our ally? Or are you just trying to use these girls as a way to help _you_ get stronger? …Well?"

Cure Fortune's expression turned to an uncomfortable scowl, averting her eyes, and Megumi & Yuuko's smiles dropped.

"You… were only planning on using us?" Yuuko asked.

"Continuing on the first part of my question," Kuro continued, "I notice you left one member of the team out of your 'offer'. …You can't hide it from me, the looks you give Hime whenever you see her. I recognize contempt and _hatred_ when I see it."

'H… Hatred?' Megumi thought, shocked.

"…I have a damn good _reason_ to dislike her" Fortune growled lowly.

"Is that so? But you don't just 'dislike' her, you _despise_ her. I don't know why… and to be honest, I don't much care. A team can't work if any of its members can't stand each other" Kuro stalked forward, shifting into her combat outfit. "I will ask you this one question, and you _will_ answer truthfully: Are you an ally of Cure Princess, or an enemy? One or the other, no third option. If you haven't even made up your mind on that, do so _now_."

Cure Fortune was silent for a long moment, and then fixed the group with a hardened glare. "After what she did, what she is responsible for… I can't call her anything but my enemy."

As Megumi, Seiji, Yuuko, & Ribbon gasped, Kuro sighed.

"I see…"

The attack came so fast that Cure Fortune barely reacted in time, raising her arms to block Kuro's punch, the transferred force releasing a shockwave of wind and buckling the concrete she stood on. Kuro's eyes had changed, the amber-colored irises overlaid by a trio of comma-like markings surrounding the pupil.

"What are you doing?!" Cure Fortune said, trying not to let just how shocked she was show.

"You said it, didn't you? Cure Princess is your enemy. She's one of my partners now. And that means, _I'm_ your enemy too! And I don't 'purify' my enemies like the Pretty Cures do; I _crush_ them!"

She lashed out with a kick that knocked Fortune back, and then stomped to conjure a shimmering red barrier about 100 feet across, holding herself & Fortune in and everyone else out. Then, she Traced her Kanshou & Bakuya, gripping the mated blades as she charged. Cure Fortune went on the defensive, trying to give ground as she ducked and weaved to avoid Kuro's swings and thrusts. Soon, however, her back hit the barrier wall, and she had to grab at Kuro's wrists right before the twin blades could slash down on her, straining to hold them back; she was surprised by how much power Kuro's slender young body had, the Tracer's magic-augmented strength at least a match for Fortune's own. Then, Kuro shifted her grip on her blades, spinning them around in her hands into a reverse grip and pushing downward, and Cure Fortune barely escaped being slashed, ducking & rolling as they tore through part of her Cure outfit.

Leaping back, Kuro cast _Katon: Hōsenka_ , spitting out a barrage of small fireballs. Cure Fortune formed a star-shaped lavender magic shield, and the fireballs and their concealed shuriken battered at the defense, chipping away at it; one got through, the shuriken grazing across her shoulder. Growling, Fortune conjured a scimitar of glowing lavender-colored magic, brandishing it and rushing at Kuro. In response, the little Tracer formed a _jian_ and channeled her magical power through it, clashing the straight-sword against Cure Fortune's curved blade. They dueled briefly, until Kuro charged mana into her sword and hit as hard as she could, causing Fortune's blade construct to shatter. Stunned, Cure Fortune leapt back to avoid the follow-up strike, forming several small slicing stars and flinging them like shuriken. Kuro dodged most of them and used her blade to swat the last one away, then dispelled the _jian_.

"Enough warm-up" she said. "Time to get serious…"

A raging aura of power surged around Kuro, leaving Cure Fortune and the onlookers stunned by the sudden leap in her power level they sensed. With a flash of red and orange, Kuro 'Traced' a Mirage Longsword, and then she released a very large wave of Crossfire Shot bolts. Shocked, Cure Fortune moved frantically to dodge what she could and shield against what she couldn't. However, there were so many orange magic bolts, and each one had a considerable punch to it, that Fortune's shields soon failed and evading became impossible, and she cried out as some of the shots hit home, hitting much harder than she expected, leaving her wracked with pain. Gritting her teeth, she charged her finisher and fired, a large star-shaped blast of energy:

"PreCure: Stardust Shoot!"

" _Rho Aias_!"

Kuro's five-petaled flower shield took Fortune's attack head-on, and showed barely any damage, leaving the belligerent Pretty Cure stunned beyond words; she realized now that Kuro was too strong for her to defeat. Then, Kuro flash-stepped forward, and struck Cure Fortune with a full-force blow to the gut. Fortune doubled over and fell to her knees, eyes wide and jaw dropped as she tried desperately to resume breathing. A second later, Kuro struck with several more blows, pounding Cure Fortune through her Cure outfit and magical protection, finishing with a kick to the mid-back that would've shattered a normal human's spine. Sent tumbling by the blow, Fortune barely managed to land on her feet, and then cried out as Kuro's Mirage Longsword slashed across her lower back, some of the damage actually breaking through her magical defenses to leave a burn/cut across her flesh. She swung wildly in an attempt to make Kuro get back, the smaller girl backflipping away.

Then, Kuro 'Traced' Sasuke Uchiha's _chokutō_ , and the blade crackled with Lightning chakra which then spread to envelop Kuro's little body, adding to the young warrior's fearsome appearance. Seeing and feeling this power, feeling the pain across her body, remembering what she'd learned about this girl, feeling Kuro's Killing Intent… Now, Cure Fortune didn't just fear defeat; she was beginning to fear for her _life_.

"Cure Fortune's stronger than any of us…," Yuuko murmured, "and Kuro-chan's just… picking her apart…"

Kuro teleported in, and Cure Fortune cried out as a brief smack from the broad side of the blade was accompanied by a surge of hot pain as the electrical energy hit her. She ducked backward, narrowly avoiding a swing that had been aimed at her neck, and the moment she straightened up the pommel of the sword jabbed her in the throat, followed by a full-strength palm thrust that felt like it broke at least one rib. Desperate to try and escape, Fortune formed her lower-back bow into wings and tried to take off, but as she got a few meters in the air Kuro leapt up, forming a solid Rune Shield and kicking off it, lunging at Cure Fortune with a _Chidori_ thrusting out.

Cure Fortune had no time to evade. Kuro's spearing hand wreathed in concentrated Lightning chakra was only partially stopped by Fortune's magical auto-defenses; though it did not tear an instantly-fatal hole through the girl's body, it did result in a burst of blood as it created a sizable wound on her front, below her breasts. At the same time, the released Lightning energy discharged, surging across and partially through Cure Fortune's body. After a few seconds, she plummeted to the ground, trailing smoke, landing with a thud on her back. Groaning and whimpering weakly, she held a twitching hand to her front, feeling the blood. Kuro landed a couple meters in front of her, arms crossed and an ice-cold frown on her face.

"We can't afford any more enemies right now" she said. "Your hatred of Cure Princess makes you too much of a threat…"

A blue Stage-0 _Susanō_ ribcage and arm formed around Kuro, the skeletal arm forming a massive undulating blade and raising it high.

" _SHE'S GONNA KILL HER!-!_ " Ribbon screamed, panicking.

" _Iona!-!_ " Glasan futilely pounded at the barrier.

"Kuro-chan, _stop!-!_ " Megumi shouted desperately.

Cure Fortune weakly trembled, whimpering feebly, face pale and eyes wide as tears of terror filled them. The huge blue blade swung down… and was caught in the hand that suddenly appeared, instantly stopping the blade, the transferred force sending a blast of wind. Everyone was thoroughly surprised at Blue's sudden appearance, the human-form divine being holding an expression of stern anger that none of them had ever seen on his handsome face. Cure Fortune was virtually frozen, still silently crying and trembling, not sure what to feel now.

"Stand down, Kuro" Blue said firmly.

"What are you doing?" Kuro asked crossly. "She's an _enemy_ ; she said it herself! With her power level and her spiteful hate of Hime, she's too dangerous to let just roam around! Ribbon-chan told me how she didn't get her powers from you, so for all we know she may even be an agent of one of the DDF's big enemies!"

"Actually, from what I have been able to discern, Cure Fortune inherited her powers from her older sister Cure Tender, one of the strongest of the current Pretty Cure generation… and one of the first Cures defeated and captured by Phantom."

'The bride's missing friend, Maria… _That's_ why she's missing?' Megumi thought.

"…Regardless, we can't abide by someone who poses such a threat, who _despises_ a member of our team and won't even give a reason _why_!"

"…the… Box…" Cure Fortune wheezed out, still trembling from residual fear and not-so-residual pain. "Princess… opened… Axia…"

Megumi, Yuuko, and Seiji gasped. Hime, trembling, made ready to run… and then little red Binds grabbed her ankles.

"Hime-chan…" Kuro said. "From what I've gathered from getting to know you so far, you're not the kind of person to willingly unseal an ancient evil by opening a forbidden box. You barely have a mean bone in your body. So why did you do it? Curiosity? Was it an accident?"

Quivering, Hime struggled to speak. "Th… There was a… a sad voice… c-coming from the box… Sounded so… weak, a-and scared, and sad… p-pleading for help…"

Cure Fortune's eyes widened. 'S-She… She was… _tricked_ …?'

"In other words…," Kuro said, "your kindness, your innocence, your desire to help others… The sealed evil turned your virtues against you." She let out an exasperated sigh. "You're too trusting, Hime – too naïve! You can't just go doing things for people just because they look or sound all sad about it; that's how you end up getting _used_ like this! There are way too many people out there who'll take advantage of a person's innocence, trust, and want to help in order to put them through the wringer and deceive them into helping with awful things! I'm not blaming or mad at you for following your Heart and trying to be a good person, but you can't afford to be too willing to trust and give the benefit of the doubt to everyone! If you're too friendly to every single person, creature, or mysterious voice you meet, it'll come back to bite you."

"That's not true!" Megumi spoke up. "True, there are a few bad people out there who might take advantage of others' kindness, but that's no reason to not trust anyone! Most people aren't like that! And… And, if I had been there instead of Hime… if I had heard a sad voice begging for help, I wouldn't have been able to resist trying to help either."

Yuuko nodded in agreement, and placed a hand on Hime's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault…"

As her two friends accepted her dark, terrible secret and still comforted and supported her, Hime felt like crying.

"You girls must remember that Kuro is from a different world," Blue said, noticing how the pressure of the _Susanō_ Blade had near-completely lessened, "one where centuries of magical activity connected to the 'Magus Association' have created a climate of secrets, mistrust, and betrayals. And Kuro, you must try to realize that the magical world of this Realm isn't like that. For lack of a better way to put it, magic-knowledgeable people here are _nicer_ than in your world. Himelda didn't even consider any suspicion regarding the voice from the Axia Box begging to help because an enemy using fake innocence and pleas for help had never been done before.

The little Tracer sighed. "And as for _you_ ," she turned to Cure Fortune, "why didn't you ever _ask_ Hime why she did it? Did it ever occur to you to find out the reason? …No, it didn't, because you were too caught up in your toxic grudge, too desperate to blame _someone_ for what happened to your sister, when the only one you _should_ be blaming is the asshole who beat and captured her! Ugh, why the hell don't people just _talk_ to each other?!"

'W-Why… Why didn't I… I never even thought to…' Cure Fortune could feel guilt starting to swell up within her.

Kuro lifted her _Susanō_ Sword, which then joined the arm & ribcage in evaporating into wisps of blue chakra flame and disappearing. The red barrier faded away and came down, and immediately Glasan hurried over to her wounded partner's side. As Kuro stood down, Blue came over and used his healing magic on Cure Fortune. The gaping, bleeding wound in her front was sealed shut, though a ragged scar was left in its place; in addition, the electrical damage to her body was undone. Fortune staggered to her unstable feet, and then fled as fast as she could, troubled by thoughts of these new revelations… and still dead-terrified of Kuro.

"Hime-chan…" Megumi placed a hand on the shorter girl's shoulder. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I…" the blue-haired girl squeaked. "I w-was afraid… that you girls would hate me for… s-starting this whole mess by o-opening…"

Megumi stopped her with a hug, Yuuko following while Seiji placed a hand on her head.

"Don't be stupid" the boy said. "You made a mistake, but it was because bad people took advantage of your innocence and kindness. That's not your fault at all."

"We'd never hate you" Yuuko spoke to Hime in a soothing tone. "We're comrades, and best friends. Now, come on; let's get you back home and I'll make something yummy for you."

"…You think Cure Fortune might change her tune now that she knows Hime-chan was _tricked_ into unsealing the Phantom Empire?" Kuro wondered aloud.

"We can only hope" Ribbon replied. "She's got a lot to think about…"

 **-** ** _CHAPTER END_** **-**

Next Time: Phantom makes his move, and other stuff happens too. And to those who're seeing a 'pattern', don't worry; none of the Go Princess or Mahou-Tsukai Pretty Cures will pick fights with the DDF people sent to help them. Cures Ace and Fortune needed 'attitude adjustments', but the other two teams' members don't.


	7. Happiness Charge 2

**PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** ** _CHAPTER START_** **-**

 **Realm PC-8**

Later that day, a pair of Saiaku at the marketplace was taken care of by Cures Lovely & Princess; Megumi had made it undeniably clear to Hime that she was still accepted and loved, and the elation that brought the blue-haired girl enabled her to fight in perfect sync with her pinkette friend.

The next day, the Cure Trio and Kuro were making their way along the waterfront, just enjoying each other's company. Suddenly, there was a pulse of Dark energy that raced out over nearly half the town, and then a veritable _horde_ of Saiaku sprang up all over the place. In addition, purple crystals began to grow everywhere; Blue had informed them that the crystals meant PreCure Hunter Phantom's handiwork. The girls quickly transformed, Kuro Tracing the 'Blast Sword' Shibuki and making the first strike, a slashing explosion knocking the nearest Saiaku for a loop. Cure Honey conjured a clover-shaped mass of magic from the tip of her baton to wield as a mace, while Lovely & Princess formed their outfits' wings and stuck to unarmed attacks for now.

As two Saiaku tried to box Kuro in, she fired a wave of Fire-type _Sagitta Magica_ at one's face, stunning it while she hit the other with a blast-slash from her weapon. One Saiaku managed to overpowered Cure Lovely and smash her into the side of a crystal, but Cure Princess came to her rescue, blasting the monster back with a pair of big blue fist-shaped masses of magical power.

"You're always helping me when I can't handle things…" Lovely said with a warm smile.

"That's my line" Princess replied. "I was nothing before I met you…"

"We can fight so well now because we have each other! Our friendship and love give us power!"

Grinning, Cure Princess nodded. As Lovely went back into the fray, however, a worried thought crossed her mind. 'Cure Fortune… doesn't have anyone. How's _she_ doing right now…?'

The quartet continued clearing the town of Saiaku, defeating and purifying them one group at a time. Finally, the last ones were cleansed, but the girls barely got a moment's reprieve before Cure Fortune's fairy partner Glassan arrived, panicking as she delivered worrying news: Cure Fortune had engaged Phantom in battle, and the two of them had vanished through a dark mirror portal to some unknown realm…

- _Break_ -

As the ashes that were once her transformation cards were scattered by the wind around her, Iona felt the fear and despair consuming her. Her sister had only fallen and been beaten because she had wandered into the battlefield, and Maria had thrown herself into the path of an attack Phantom had fired at her back then. It was all her fault; first blaming Cure Princess, and now this. And now…

"Sleep in eternal despair…" Phantom proclaimed, holding aloft a huge mass of roiling red & black power. He threw it, and Iona closed her eyes and waited for the end…

" _Rho Aias!_ "

A five-petaled flower shield formed in the attack's path, warping from the hit but holding strong and outlasting the assault. Iona stared up in shock at her four rescuers standing between her and Phantom.

"Sorry we're late" Kuro quipped. "Traffic sucked."

"Happiness Charge PreCures, and the off-worlder who uses Projection magic… How did you people get here?" Phantom demanded.

"Our friendship created a miracle," Cure Honey responded, "with a little help from Blue-sama."

Phantom looked at the shimmering mirror portal, through which Blue's image could be seen, and an expression of near-feral hate came upon his face before he regained some control of himself.

"We're your opponents now" Cure Lovely took a ready stance. "We'll make you pay for unleashing a horde of Saiaku on our town!"

Kuro formed a copy of 'Leon' Leonhart's gunblade, and led Lovely & Honey in the charge. Cure Princess, meanwhile, ran over to the downed Iona.

"Here!" she said. "Take my PreCards! …What I've done, what you've suffered through because of it, is beyond any forgiveness. I can't think of any way to apologize to you that would be enough. This is the most I can do, and it's still probably not good enough! Just… Take my cards, and use them to save your sister. I've got to get back into the fight…"

"Princess!" Iona shouted as the blue-haired girl turned to run. "What about your kingdom? Your family? You were going to use your wish to save them, weren't you?!"

"…This whole mess… is all my fault. My kingdom, my mom and dad, not being saved… is my punishment."

She formed her wings and took off, moving to join her teammates.

'No…' Iona though, clutching the PreCards to her chest, tears coming to her eyes. 'That's enough… You've repented and suffered enough already… You don't deserve to…'

"Iona!" Glasan pulled out their PreCard album. "With Princess' cards, we have a full set! We can make a wish with this! …What are you gonna do with it? Save Maria? Or… maybe wish for the PreCure Hunter to disappear, for the Phantom Empire to fall?"

"…Would making that wish… save the Blue-Sky Kingdom, and all the people who've been trapped around the world?"

"I don't know… I don't think so…"

'Everything has been for my sister… but…' She looked as the Cures were being beaten around by Phantom, while Kuro was apparently giving her all just to keep up with him. 'Saving one person… but condemning others… That's…'

At the battle, Cure Lovely cried out as an energy blast from Phantom blasted her into a crystal spire. He went for a follow-up sword strike, only for Kuro to block his blow and blast him with a fireball from her Traced gunblade, followed by Cures Princess & Honey knocking him away. Phantom moved in close, locking blades with Kuro and slowly pushing her back, forming a Shield spell to block the Fire-type _Sagitta Magica_ bolt she fired at his face.

Suddenly, there was a brilliant, shining light from elsewhere on the field. Golden light changed to lavender, as Cure Fortune was reborn, new power flowing through her. Then, she leapt in with a punch that the PreCure Hunter leapt back to avoid, the blow shattering the ground he'd been standing on.

"All this time…" she said. "I've been running on vengeance, and hate… But that's not where a Pretty Cure's power is meant to come from. The love from my sister… The warmth and happiness from… from my _comrades_ … I want to spread those feelings to _everyone_ … and stop those who stand against them!"

She charged, and when Phantom blocked her punch he was startled by how much more power was in it than before. He tried to regain the initiative, but Fortune was managing to match him blow for blow, even pushing him back slightly. She finally got past his guard and hammered him with a blow that sent him hurtling back, and then pulled out her new Cure weapon – some sort of fancy tambourine – and charged power into it:

"Light of the stars, change into holy power! PreCure: _Starlight Ascension_!"

The wave of magical power rushed out, crashing into Phantom's guard. He gritted his teeth, straining to hold it back… and then the bulk of the power released, the blast nearly doubling in size and engulfing him in Light magic. The other Cures and Kuro ran over to Fortune, who stopped their congratulations before they could start, holding a hand out and staring at the dust cloud. Sure enough, it cleared to reveal Phantom, kneeling and obviously injured, but with a burning fire still in his eyes.

"I'm not done yet…" he growled. "I can still-"

" _What are you doing, Phantom?_ "

Everyone was startled as a massive red-bordered mirror appeared a distance behind Phantom, projecting the image of a woman with curled blonde hair and a pale-blue teardrop mark below her left eye, clad in a somewhat 'poofy' black dress with white skirt, a pair of gray things from the back that looked like either storm clouds or butterfly-like wings, holding a silver & purple staff.

"That's… the enemy leader" Glasan told Kuro and the HC Cures. "Queen Mirage!"

" _Phantom, I do not recall giving you permission to go off to Pikarigaoka on your own…_ "

"So you're the evil Queen, huh?" Kuro formed a Trace of the giant blade _Kubikiri Bōchō_. "Shall we proceed with your appointment with the executioner?"

" _…Happiness Charge PreCure, and the little Projection user from another world… You are the ones who've been interfering with my plans…_ "

She pointed her staff at them, charging up a Dark blast to fire through the mirror at the girls…

"Halt!"

A mirror portal shimmered into existence, and out stepped Blue, glaring up at the startled image of the enemy.

"Mirage, stop this!" he called out. "If you keep spreading despair and darkness around the world, it will end up consuming you as well! It's not too late; you can still undo all of this!"

" _Blue… You were the one who taught me, aren't you? That happiness, friendship, hope, love… are all just fleeting illusions!_ "

"You're wrong!" Megumi stepped forward, to both parties' surprise. "Happiness, love, and friendship aren't 'illusions'! Some people have trouble finding them, true, but everyone has those things in their hearts! They are _eternal_!"

For a moment, there was silence. Then, cracks appeared across the big mirror's surface as a terrible dark power surged forth.

" _I see. You are the one who has given Blue new strength. …_ _ **Disgusting**_ _._ "

Sensing the building power of the next attack, Kuro moved to step forward and conjure a shield, only for Blue to hurriedly grab her by the wrist and pull her back, using his power to pull everyone with him through the mirror-portal he'd used to get here, getting everyone out right before the blast hit. The gang found themselves back in the 'Cross Mirror Room', still shaken by the overwhelming Killing Intent they'd felt from their true foe…

"So that was Queen Mirage…" Yuuko said. "Her presence was so cold and _suffocating_ …"

"Blue-sama…" Ribbon spoke up. "The words that were said back there… Did you and Queen Mirage know each other before all this?"

"…We did" the divine man admitted. "But now, we are enemies." He sighed, turning to face the group. "I will tell you girls one thing about her, something important. Queen Mirage is the result of a worst-case scenario: a Pretty Cure who fell to Darkness."

The girls gasped.

"Q… Queen Mirage used to be…" Hime started.

"A… A Pretty Cure?!" Iona was dumbfounded.

"So even the Pretty Cures, champions of the Light, are able to succumb to the Darkness…" Kuro mused. "and it looks like when they go bad, they go _really_ bad."

The group passed through another portal, back to the Blue-Sky Embassy, and all but collapsed onto the couches as the adrenaline wore off. Blue took hold of the transformation device Iona had been carrying.

"So Cure Tender's powers were passed on to her sister…"

"Y-Yes, sir" Iona sat with hands folded. "It… It was all I could do…"

"In any case," Megumi spoke up, "Iona-chan, why don't you join our team? The Happiness Charge PreCure could become even stronger with you as a part of us!"

"I think… I'll have to pass. You girls have this great teamwork dynamic all set up; I don't want to ruin that by trying to slot myself in."

As Megumi tried to think of a counter-argument, her stomach rumbled, shortly followed by everyone else's.

"For now," Yuuko said, "let's make something to eat first."

"I've got it!" Megumi suddenly shouted. "Since we're finally all together, let's celebrate with a little house party! I'll make a fruit-cake!"

"But we don't have any fruit" Ribbon replied. "Or vegetables for the salad. Or meat, or cheese, or snacks… Basically, we're out of pretty much _everything_ right now."

"So one of us needs to go on a shopping trip" Kuro surmised.

"Why don't we go, Iona?" Glasan suggested. "Besides, it wouldn't be fair for us to eat any of it if we don't do anything to help."

The purple-haired girl nodded. "Alright. …Princess Himelda, you come too."

"Eh?!" Hime was still nervous around Iona. "W-Why me?"

"I'll need help carrying everything."

" _Auu_ …"

- _Break_ -

About an hour after Hime & Iona (and their respective fairies) left, Blue's mirrors detected a pair of Saiaku forming near the marketplace. Lovely, Honey, and Kuro hurried over… to find Princess & Fortune there, arriving just in time to see Hosshiiwa retreating.

"You were late, girls" Ribbon told them. "Cure Princess and Cure Fortune already handled it."

"They worked together so well!" Glasan praised.

"That didn't seem possible at first" Cure Fortune admitted. "I… I ran away, after the shame and guilt over… over how awful I've treated her for things that weren't her fault got to me. And yet… when the Saiaku were working together and backing me into a corner, she still came and saved me, _again_. I… don't really think I deserve to be forgiven so easily…"

"Forgiveness isn't something you 'deserve'" Kuro replied. "It's something the other person _gives_ to you; _they_ decide whether or not you've earned forgiveness, and she, _we_ , think you have. Granted, I still think you were a major bitch before, but you've finally gotten a few wake-up calls and now you're making up for it."

As Cure Princess put a hand on Fortune's shoulder, the lavender-haired magical girl turned to Cure Lovely. "And… I've decided. I'll take your offer, Cure Lovely. I'll join the team… if you'll have me."

A big smile formed on Cure Lovely's face, as she took hold of Cure Fortune's hands. "Great! Now come on, we've got a house party to set up!"

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

A couple days later, Iona took the whole gang – including Blue – to a beach resort owned by her family dojo, for 'special training'. Once there she put her three fellow Cures through training to use some of their attacks without transforming, which came off looking like a bunch of girls pretending to be Pretty Cures; Kuro felt a little embarrassed for them, thankful for their sakes nobody else was around to see them like this…

During their training across the beach, they inadvertently stumbled across Oresky doing the same thing, leading a Saiaku and a pack of Choiaku in training. Kuro sat back and watched to give the Cures a chance to show if their 'training' did anything, and the girls didn't disappoint; Cure Lovely's optic blasts were more accurate, Honey's ribbon hit harder and moved more agilely, Princess' 'Princess Ball' finally actually hurt her opponent rather than bouncing off or missing, and Fortune debuted a new Form Change that took care of the Choiaku, and then purified the Saiaku, forcing Oresky to retreat.

The rest of the day was peaceful, though Megumi ended up overworking herself and coming down with a slight fever, and Blue put her to bed early. She was still out of commission the next day, and Seiji seemed to be acting odd about Blue taking care of her… Thankfully, she seemed to be all better by the afternoon, just in time to help fight against Namekeruda's newest Saiaku. The next day, on the train ride home, Seiji & Hime had an adventure of their own when they accidentally got left behind at an unmanned station while everyone else was asleep, minus her 'Change Mirror' and his 'Cure Liner' comm. device, and what's worse, Hime ended up with a sprained ankle. Thankfully, the rest of the group found them just in time to save them from a Saiaku and horde of Choiaku, and once Cure Honey healed her, Cure Princess fought with newfound ferocity and strength due to being angered like never before by seeing Seiji be hurt protecting her, vanquishing the Saiaku all by herself.

Of course, this gave way to a bit of trouble when Hime came to the conclusion she was falling in love with Seiji. Though, in the end, after Lovely & Princess reached new levels of power saving Seiji after he was made into a Saiaku, Hime realized her feelings for the boy weren't quite romantic after all.

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

The group gathered in the Cross Mirror Room – Megumi, Hime, Yuuko, Iona, Kuro, their two fairies, and a third fairy named 'Aloalo'. Apparently, she was partnered to Cure Sunset and Cure Wave, the Cures charged with defending Hawaii from the Phantom Empire's forces, and things weren't going well. They stepped through the mirror-portal…

…and discovered that 'things aren't going well' was an understatement. It looked like half of all Hawaii was frozen!

"What the hell happened here?" Kuro looked around.

"The Phantom Empire forces here are led by Madam Momere," Aloalo explained, "and they've been defeating the Aloha Pretty Cure over and over recently. Cure Sunset and Cure Wave are sisters, but… lately, they've been constantly arguing and fighting with each other; I came to get you girls because in their last fight, Sunset almost deliberately _attacked_ Wave during their fight against a Saiaku…"

Megumi gasped, shocked that a sibling bond could come apart that badly. Before anybody could say any more, an explosion sounded out. The girls hurried over in its direction, and after a few minutes they arrived to see the two Cures knocked out of their transformations, defeated by a fire-dancer Saiaku and…

"Is… that a guy or a lady?" Hime asked.

After taunting the two fallen girls a little, 'Madam' Momere teleported out. The Japan group hurried over, Aloalo taking the lead.

"Ohana! Olina! Lord Blue sent us some help! These girls are the Happiness Charge Pretty Cures from Japan; they're probably the strongest Cures in the whole world!"

"I wouldn't really go _that_ far" Iona replied, embarrassed.

"You girls have given the Phantom Empire more defeats and setbacks than any other Cure team. You're the big guns in the war against them!"

"We've beat them so many times because they keep throwing so many attacks against our town" Hime replied. "We only have more victories than anyone else because they've attacked us more than they've attacked the world's other teams. …Seriously, in most places it's one Phantom Empire agent focusing on a whole region, but we've got _three_ of them picking on just one town!"

"In any case," Yuuko spoke up, "let's all find someplace safe to discuss things, shall we?"

- _Break_ -

At the twins' house, it quickly became clear that the girls' differing philosophies, rather than working to cover each other, were instead leading them to clash; Olina was too cautious, not taking the initiative when boldness was needed and thus letting opportunities pass by, while Ohana was too reckless, not thinking things through and always recklessly charging into fights where going head-on was nigh-guaranteed to fail.

"You two gotta find a balance," Kuro told them, "or you're gonna keep getting your asses kicked."

"Be nice, Kuro-chan" Megumi gently reprimanded the girl. "This isn't a problem that can't be solved."

"And I've got just the thing to start!" Yuuko pulled out the sizable bag she'd brought along, opening it to reveal an impressive amount of food she'd brought from her family's shop. "The Oomori family's food is a tool of peace; people can forget their fights while indulging in deliciousness!"

Sure enough, Yuuko's food proved to be a major mood-soother, leaving the two Hawaiian girls more open to discussion. Yuuko, having been traveling the world at Blue's behest recently to help other Cures in need in addition to her activities as part of the Happiness Charge team, led the efforts to get the sisters to reconcile, reminding them of how important they were to each other.

Thankfully, her people skills paid off, and just in time too, as 'Madam' Momere arrived outside with a horde of Choiaku and two Saiaku. The group hurried outside, all six Cures transforming to meet the enemy, while Kuro shifted to her combat outfit and sent out her Rowlet & Sneasel to help out. Kuro conjured and threw a fusillade of kunai, which her Rowlet surrounded with Razor Leaves to the Choiaku targets had nowhere to run, especially with Sneasel using lightning-fast slashes and ice attacks to 'herd' them into her partners' attacks' path. Cure Lovely, meanwhile, shifted to her Cherry Flamenco form, blowing a multitude of Choiaku away, while Fortune & Princess went at one of the Saiaku, hammering it with blows and forcing it back.

Cures Sunset & Wave, meanwhile, were working together better than they had in weeks, covering each other as they double-teamed the fire dancer Saiaku. However, it was a tough opponent, managing to keep up with them even with their newly-rediscovered teamwork. It blasted them back with its flaming tree-sized stick, and when it tried a finishing blow against Cure Sunset, Cure Wave leapt into its path, taking so much damage she almost de-transformed.

"Wave, what are you doing?!" Sunset shouted, a hint of tears in her eyes as she cradled her partner. "That was way too reckless!"

"I _had_ to…" the blue Cure replied weakly. "You're my big sister…"

"You still haven't dropped that dead-weight baby sister of yours?" Momere taunted Cure Sunset.

"Aw, shuddup!"

Kuro's flying kick slammed into Momere's face, sending her (him? Hir?) tumbling. Meanwhile, a flash of violet accompanied Cure Fortune purifying the other Saiaku. Cure Honey hurried over, using Honey Healing Rhythm to get Sunset & Wave back on their feet, while the Saiaku was pushed back by a Night Slash to the chest by Sneasel and being repeatedly Plucked in the face by Rowlet.

Gathering themselves, Sunset & Wave came together, focusing and combining their powers. For the first time in far too long, their combination attack flew forth, crashing into the Saiaku and purifying it. Indignant, Momere started shouting at them… and barely reacted in time to avoid being decapitated by a Sangheili plasma sword wielded by Kuro. Realizing this was the non-Cure, lethal-force-using heroine the Queen had mentioned, and that she had six Cures and two Pokémon backing her up, Momere quickly fled. The magic ice encasing the area quickly evaporated and disappeared, returning Hawaii to its warm and sunny tropical state.

That evening, Ohana & Olina treated the HC Cures' group to a proper Hawaiian dinner. Afterwards, the Japan group headed back home, assured that Hawaii was once again in good hands.

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

The next day, Blue revealed that, in addition to acting as a sealing vessel, the Axia Box possessed the ability to grant new power to the Cures. With that, they could finally defeat Queen Mirage and the Phantom Empire… but Megumi spoke up and said they couldn't just destroy their enemies, for she had read the clues in the incarnated deity's words and actions: Blue didn't want to destroy Queen Mirage.

Later, as he led everyone to the Pikari Shrine to perform the ritual, Blue confessed the full truth: Mirage was once a Shrine Maiden and a first-generation Pretty Cure, who bonded with and fell in love with him, and he for her. However, he felt that his duty as Earth's god meant he could not allow himself to be with her, and so rejected her plea to stay with him. In response, the maiden's pain and despair of lost love mutated into bitterness and hate, the warrior of the Light became subsumed in that Darkness, and Queen Mirage was 'born'.

"So, that's why the 'no falling in love' rule for these girls" Kuro surmised. "You didn't want to risk the creation of another Queen Mirage."

"Yes…" Blue nodded. He turned to the conjured mirror, which showed an image of the shrine-maiden on one half, and the dark queen she became on the other. "The girl I knew back then would never want to do the horrible things Queen Mirage has done. I… Just once, I want to see her smile again…"

"Alright, then!" Megumi spoke up. "We just need to use Axia's power to give you the chance to properly talk with her!"

"If you've hurt someone's feelings," Hime added, "you need to apologize properly. And we'll do what we can to help you."

"She might not wanna hear it," Kuro said with a grin, "but if it comes down to it, we'll just fight her until she's too worn out to shut you out, and then you can get through to her and pull her outta that dark pit her Heart is trapped in!"

A genuine, warm smile came to Blue's face. "You girls… Thank you. Now, let us commence the ritual to awaken Axia's power!"

Hime changed into her kingdom's royal ceremonial garb, as Blue handed her the necessary tools for the ritual. She began to perform the ritual's dance, and soon a shining light came down from the heavens above, down on her, Blue, and the Axia Box.

"Can't let you do that, PreCures!"

Everyone suddenly turned to look at the shrine's gates, to see all three of the familiar Phantom Empire generals there.

"You plan to use the Axia Box to get enough power to vanquish our queen?" Oresky asked, "Sorry, but that ain't happening! We'll crush you here and now!"

"This is a pain," Namekeruda said, "but I can't disobey a direct order from the Queen."

"I'd rather take that pretty little box all for myself" Hosshiiwa grinned. "It'll look nice on my shelf!"

In response, the four combat-ready girls stepped forward, each of them shining with light as they transformed. Cure Lovely engaged Namekeruda, while Cure Fortune took Oresky; Hosshiiwa went for Cure Honey, and Kuro moved to support her friend, forming a Trace of Orochimaru's _Kusanagi no Tsurugi_ , clashing against the evil woman's magic-imbued umbrella. All the while, Blue and Hime worked to continue the ritual.

Kuro sent her partners out to play; Namekeruda's attempt to bash Cure Lovely's head in with his cane was blocked by Sneasel, her claws glowing with Metal Claw, while Oresky had to shield his face from a Razor Leaf barrage as Rowlet moved to support Cure Fortune. Hosshiiwa yelped as a near-miss from Kuro's sword tore at the edge of her dress, then snarled and fired a Darkness blast at the girl which Kuro sliced out of the air, giving Cure Honey the opening to hit Hosshiiwa in the face with her baton. Cure Lovely formed a big glowing pink fist of magic power, and Sneasel formed spiked knuckles of ice atop it, the combined attack slamming into Namekeruda and blasting him back. Oresky broke out in involuntary shivers as Rowlet's Ominous Wind battered him, and a straight kick from Cure Fortune sent him tumbling.

Unfortunately, the evil trio were quickly back on their feet, and didn't seem to have taken much damage. Then, however, the Axia Box glowed with power, floating up before Blue and shifting in form, taking the shape of what looked like a makeup dresser or something. The light it shined out rejuvenated the heroes, and bound the evil trio in place. Cure Lovely used her Lollipop Hiphop form's attack to pin them down further, and then Cure Fortune blasted them with Starlight Ascension.

In the blinding light, nobody noticed a mirror with a pair of glowing red eyes on it forming to face the mid-purification trio, breaking the cleansing effect and reestablishing Darkness' hold on them. When the light faded, they were still their old, evil selves.

"Happiness and love are too troublesome and painful to deal with" Namekeruda proclaimed.

"I'd rather spread despair to others than wallow in my own 'happiness'" Hosshiiwa sneered.

"Being happy isn't as important as being number-one!" Oresky shouted.

The trio warped out, as the light from the Shining Make Dresser died down. Then, before anyone could say anything else, a new light shone forth. They stared as Kuro's Rowlet became a mass of light that shifted and grew, and when the light faded, Dartrix stood and struck a pose.

"Ohhh~! Kuro-chan, he evolved!" Cure Lovely said excitedly.

With a big grin, Kuro hurried over and hugged her Dartrix, who looked a bit miffed at first at his feathers being messed up, but then smiled and patted his Trainer with his wing.

"We've awakened the Axia Box's true form" Blue announced. "With the Shining Make Dresser, I feel we are one step closer to bringing an end to this conflict full of suffering."

- _Break_ -

"Phantom!"

"Yes, my lady?"

"…Go to Pikarigaoka. Find Blue and his Cures, and _crush_ them! Carry out my will!"

"With pleasure, my Queen…"

 **-** ** _CHAPTER END_** **-**

Next Time: Things start gettin' real, as creeping Darkness draws near…


	8. Happiness Charge 3

Updates are slower now because the only streaming I can find of the episodes buffers **_extremely_** slowly – like, 40 seconds of loading/buffering per two seconds of video…

This chapter starts out pretty cookie-cutter canon, but that will change…

 **PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** ** _CHAPTER START_** **-**

 **Realm PC-8**

The next day, the gang was still trying to figure out exactly what the Shining Make Dresser was supposed to do, and how to do it. Nothing they'd tried so far was working, so for lack of any other ideas they had resorted to using it as a regular makeup mirror for now. Blue, meanwhile, seemed conflicted, and it was hard not to understand why; the time drew near for them to confront Queen Mirage, who had once been his beloved partner _Cure_ Mirage. Wanting to clear his head a little, he stepped into the Cross Mirror Room and then the Pikari Shrine, with Megumi following him.

Hime, Yuuko, Iona, and Kuro (and Ribbon & Glasan) spent the next while brainstorming but not really making any headway. Then, however, Kuro sensed a sudden flare of Darkness and Killing Intent from the edge of the city. Hurrying outside, the three Cures transformed, while Kuro 'Traced' Future Trunks' sword, giving her _ki_ -based flight. As the quartet took to the skies and started searching, there was a pulse of Dark magic that raced out across the entire town, leaving everything darkened and dreary, the air becoming colder.

Soon, the girls reached an area where dust and cast-off magical energy filled the air. They arrived in time to see a new enemy stalking toward a downed Cure Lovely. Cure Princess rushed in with a diving kick, but the new girl casually grabbed her by the leg so hard she almost broke it, and slammed Cure Princess into the dirt. Fortune flew in, firing magic blasts that the new enemy just held her hand up and shielded against. Then Kuro fired a ki blast, and when the enemy was distracted she teleported in and swung her blade; the enemy leapt away, dodging the blade by less than half an inch.

"You're a new Phantom Empire agent?" Cure Princess got to her feet. "We'll make you pay for this! …Wait, why does she look like Lovely?"

"That energy signature…" Glasan spoke up. "That's Phantom! He's turned into some kinda dark clone of Cure Lovely!"

Cure Fortune charged, Cure Honey right behind her, the two of them trying a pincer assault. 'Un-Lovely' casually shrugged off the attempt, defending against their attacks and then blasting them with a Darkness wave so powerful it put them down for the count and almost knocked them out of their transformations. Kuro moved in next, weaving around Un-Lovely's attempt to blast her away and hitting the transformed enemy with a rising kick that rocketed her into the sky, taking off to give chase. Still brandishing a Trace of Trunks' sword, she swung it to release slicing waves of _ki_ , only for Un-Lovely to form a blade of dark-red magical energy and swat them aside, moving in to engage the Tracer in an aerial duel.

'What I wouldn't give for a Keyblade or the Master Sword or something like that right now…' Kuro thought. Unfortunately, for some reason, despite being a Tracer and being connected to Illya, she had yet to ever successfully 'Fake' a Keyblade. 'Guess I'm just not pure enough…'

Un-Lovely fired a sizable flame blast, and Kuro met it with a _Katon: Gōkakyū_ , the two attacks canceling each other out. The two came together in the air, clashing blades sending sparks and shockwaves through the air. Kuro teleported backward several meters and fired a Burning Attack, and Un-Lovely caught the blast and, for the first time, had to visibly exert a great deal of effort to shove it upward to detonate high in the clouds overhead.

The transformed Phantom growled, about to cut loose, when the four HC Cures flew back into the fray, led by a revitalized Lovely. Cures Princess and Fortune hemmed Un-Lovely in with magic blasts, and Kuro passed her sword to Cure Lovely as she charged in. Lovely channeled her 'Explosion Bomber' attack's fire through and over the blade, swinging it to crash against Un-Lovely's purple-fire barrier.

"Where is this strength coming from?!" Un-Lovely shouted. "How are you still going?!"

"Because as long as there is love in my heard," Cure Lovely replied, "the love from my family and friends spurring me on… I am _invincible_!"

Her strike finally broke through the enemy's barrier, the Traced sword disintegrating as its power was released. When the smoke faded, Phantom's transformation had been destroyed, reverting him to his basic state. Snarling with rage, he was engulfed in a blazing dark-red aura. In response, the four Cures came together, reaffirming their strength together… and a brilliant golden light shone out from between them.

The Shining Make Dresser appeared, and the Cure Quartet gathered around it as the Light grew. Phantom tried to charge in and intervene, drawing his sword, only for Kuro to bar his path with a freshly-Traced copy of his blade; looking even angrier at a 'Faker' daring to wield a copy of his sword, he pressed his assault, and Kuro went on the defensive, giving ground and leading him around. …By the time he noticed the light building to an apex, it was too late:

" _PreCure: Happiness Big Bang!-!_ "

As Kuro got out of the way, Phantom turned and stared in shocked horror at the enormous heart-shaped wave of rainbow-colored magic racing out toward him. He had no time to evade or block, and was completely engulfed in the blast. The energy raced out, dispelling the shroud of darkness over the town. As soon as the light had faded enough to not be blinding in its intensity, Kuro looked and saw the four Cures shrouded in sparkling warm light, the bows on their outfits' lower backs larger and fancier-looking, big warm smiles on their faces. Feeling the lovely warmth in the light, Kuro couldn't help but smile as well.

"The power of the Shining Make Dresser…" she murmured. "It's prettier than I expected…"

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

In the wake of the battle, the girls made a decision that Kuro questioned the wisdom of: taking the badly-wounded Phantom in, at least until he was able to leave under his own power. Well, it was mostly Yuuko's idea… Yuuko ended up doing what she could to aid Phantom once he'd regained consciousness, and made it clear that "guest's rights" meant he would come to no harm so long as he was here. He ended up leaving soon after, retreating through a Dark Mirror portal whilst the girls handled a sizable Saiaku by the river, though not before thanking Yuuko for taking care of him… and keeping in mind the warning Blue had given him: a fallen Keyblade Master had 'tamed' the Heartless, and was making plans that would put _all_ Worlds in grave danger. Phantom felt he had to warn Queen Mirage not to even give this 'Xehanort' the time of day if he ever came calling…

Afterwards, Iona got a major shock when Kaido Yuuya, one of Seiji's friends, confessed his 'interest' in her. Poor Iona was left incredibly flustered, having no experience with romance, and the other Cures' cheerful excitement about it wasn't helping. She ended up 'agreeing' to a date with Yuuya at the zoo, with the others and Seiji along for support; Kuro, meanwhile, was busy for the day carrying out Blue's request to aid Western China's Pretty Girl duo against a stubborn foe.

Despite her nervousness, though, Iona did end up having fun with him… until Namekeruda made him into a Saiaku, and an unusually powerful one at that; the fancily-dressed man's bitterness over love gone wrong in his past had pushed him to put an unusual amount of effort into this one. The monster soon had Cures Lovely, Princess, and Honey down for the count, while Fortune was barely standing, as Namekeruda spoke of the fleeting nature and long-lasting suffering that love brought. But Cure Fortune refused to give up. She didn't really understand love yet, but she knew that Yuuya had become important to her, and she vowed to protect him and his feelings, no matter what!

And in response to Cure Fortune's heartfelt feelings, the Shining Make Dresser's power awakened. Fortune was enveloped in Light, her outfit gaining gleaming white with a glistening rainbow sheen as new power flowed within her: Innocent Form. With her new power, she was able to easily outmuscle and outmaneuver the Saiaku, trapping it with her new 'Emerald Illusion' technique, leaving it wide open for a Happiness Big Bang that cleansed it. Afterward, Iona told Yuuya that she still wasn't sure about her own feelings yet, and he told her to take all the time she needed to figure things out.

After that, Cure Lovely's attempts to awaken her own Innocent Form didn't go so well, but she did manage to protect an aspiring young rocket scientist's dreams, holding an extra-strength Saiaku and horde of Choiaku at bay long enough for help to arrive. Then, after some initial difficulties, Hime ended up finding ways to help the school get ready for the yearly culture festival, getting swept up in the joyful atmosphere of everyone helping each other.

Unfortunately, on the day of the festival, Namekeruda crashed the party, using the student-council present to make a powerful Saiaku. Cure Princess engaged it solo at first, managing to hold it off long enough for the others to arrive, but the Saiaku proved powerful enough to push Kuro & the Cures into a corner. Then, though, Princess' earnest desire to protect the festival that everyone had put so much hard work into awakened her Innocent Form; with it, she was able to easily overpower the Saiaku and use her new 'Windy Wink' to bind it in place so they could finish it off.

Then, the girls got roped into helping Yuuko deliver her family business' lunch to various people around the town, finishing with an extremely crabby old lady and her cockatoo who nonetheless always finished her delivered meals and even washed the used trays despite her complaints. Yuuko explained this as proof that she did enjoy the food, despite Hime's doubts. The next day, though, when they went on another delivery run, they arrived at the old lady's house right after she and her bird were turned into a Saiaku by Hosshiiwa, and with its sonic blasts and its speedy airborne agility it proved a tough opponent. However, Cure Honey espousing the virtues of how delicious food could spread happiness and help forge bonds between people allowed her to awaken her Innocent Form, using her new 'Honey Temptation' technique to hold the beast in place so they could purify it. Afterward, the old woman's cockatoo revealed its owner's loneliness and how she looked forward to Yuuko's visits, and Yuuko so invited her to eat at the restaurant.

A few days later came a big event: Megumi's birthday. What's more, Megumi's father had finally returned home from his overseas business, and her mother was on the mend. However, learning that her mother, whom she'd always wanted to help, could actually live normally and happily without her help so long as she had rest and meds, triggered a crisis of faith in Megumi; how much of her helping others was in fact unnecessary?

At the party, she confessed these worries to Seiji and then to Blue, and the latter was able to comfort her and give her some needed advice & encouragement. Unfortunately, the party's good mood was then spoiled by Oresky, who showed up indignant that his own birthday had been forgotten and ignored by the rest of the Phantom Empire, and was ready to take it out on Megumi's party. He proceeded to capture every guest at the party, including Megumi's parents, in order to create an extra-strength Saiaku.

As the monster beat Kuro & the Cures around, Oresky kept complaining about how nobody remembered his birthday and that he wouldn't allow someone else to celebrate theirs. Cure Lovely responded by offering to share her party with him, make it a b-day party for both of them, but Oresky accused her of trying to deceive and betray him, hinting that such a thing had happened to him in the past. He ranted about how helping others leads only to disappointment, never being appreciated, never truly making a difference, but Lovely replied that even if that outcome was a risk, she still wanted to keep on helping people, how her heart full of love guided her to help others in an effort to spread happiness.

And in response, her heartfelt emotions burst forth, and Cure Lovely finally awakened her Innocent Form. Using her new power, she effortlessly avoided the Saiaku's irregular attacks and froze it in place with Lovely Powerful Kiss, letting the quartet cleanse it and free the party guests. Afterward, Cure Lovely again made the offer to Oresky, who actually seemed to consider it for a moment before rebuffing her, claiming he wouldn't fall for such tricks 'anymore', and teleported out.

"So Oresky was apparently betrayed by people he trusted," Kuro observed, "and Namekeruda had a relationship that went really sour. I wonder if Hosshiiwa has any painful moments from her past that helped drive her to the Phantom Empire's service…"

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

"PreCure: _Happiness Big Bang!_ "

As the heart-shaped explosion of rainbow light reached out, the Saiaku didn't stand a chance, quickly being engulfed and purified. Oresky was enveloped by the energy as well, the light concentrating around him. His clothing lightened in color, as a blissful smile crept onto his face, the purification magic taking hold…

A mighty wave of Darkness shot forth, annihilating the Happiness Big Bang energy and freeing Oresky from its effects. As the burly man fell to his hands & knees, the new enemy made herself known, striding through the smoke. Long purple hair, a purple & black outfit, ragged butterfly wings, glowing red eyes… Seeing her, Cure Fortune went pale, trembling as her breaths came out in trembling squeaks.

"O… _Onée-chan…_?"

"…Son of a _bitch_ …" Kuro growled out. "Queen Mirage can corrupt Pretty Cures now? And her power level's _massive_ ; no two ways about it, this is gonna be _bad_ …"

"I am Cure Tender," the corrupted young woman spoke in monotone, "loyal servant of Queen Mirage."

"S-Servant of…" Cure Lovely murmured.

" _That's right._ "

Behind the corrupted Tender, a massive red-lined mirror appeared, projecting the image of Queen Mirage seated on her plush throne.

" _You girls have caused me no end of trouble. So, I decided to fight fire with fire. I went to where Phantom keeps all the Cures he has defeated, sought out the most powerful of them, and transformed her into my new knight, an instrument of my will._ "

"How… How _dare you?!_ " Cure Fortune glared hatefully at the woman. "Give my sister back!-!"

" _Ohoh? So you're Tender's baby sister, hm? …Tender._ _Kill Cure Fortune_ _._ "

"Yes, milady…"

The corrupted Cure vanished in a burst of untraceable speed, appearing right in front of a shocked Cure Fortune, with a Dark magic blast charged and pressed against the girl's chest. Fortune didn't even have time to gasp before she was blasted away, her PreCure outfit's defensive properties barely saving her from having a hole blown through her. Dark Tender then rushed at Cures Lovely & Princess, unleashing a barrage of rapid, mighty strikes that they were hard-pressed to block against, pushing them back as she hammered at their guards. Just when she was about to launch a blow that probably would've broken Cure Princess' arm, Cure Honey's golden ribbon wrapped around her arm, holding her in place. In response, Dark Tender growled and yanked Honey down, slamming her into Lovely & Princess, and then blasted all three girls with a Darkness Blast. Kuro came in from the side, but Dark Tender dodged her blows and then hit her with a kick that launched her clear out of the park and into the side of a building.

" _Onée-chan_ , stop this!" Cure Fortune shouted. "Maria! It's me, Iona! Your sister! Stop hurting my friends!"

" _It's useless_ " Queen Mirage replied. " _No matter how much you cry and scream, she can't hear anything but my orders._ "

As if to punctuate that statement, Dark Tender charged up a large amount of Darkness energy and fired it as a huge destructive beam right at Cure Fortune. Suddenly, Blue leapt into the path of the attack, casting a shimmering pale-blue Barrier. The mass of energy crashed against the shield, pushing at it, trying to break free.

"Mirage!" he shouted. "Stop this! This isn't right! This world… is still full of wonderful things, things we can't let be destroyed! I-"

" _I already know what you're going to say: 'Everyone's happiness is my happiness; that is the wish and duty of the God of Earth'… I don't want to hear anything more from you. Tender!_ "

The attack grew in strength, and Blue's barrier began to fracture. Suddenly, Kuro leapt in, grabbed him with one hand and Fortune with the other, and then all three of them vanished in a scintillating red flash just as the barrier failed, the attack going on to carve a trench where they'd just been. The trio appeared several meters to the side, Blue stumbling a bit.

"I did it!" Kuro cheered. "I finally managed to bring someone else with me in a teleport!"

Her good mood quickly evaporated as Queen Mirage's image glared at her with glowing red eyes, an expression mirrored by Dark Tender. The latter's dark power flared, a flame-like purple aura around her. The Cures were back on their feet, but demoralized and injured.

'I… I don't know what to do…' Kuro thought. 'If all else fails, we might have to put her down, but… Her power level's so high, I don't know if I can even manage _that_. And… No, I _can't_ do that; she's under the enemy's control, but the real Maria Hikawa _has_ to be in there somewhere! But how do we reach her? I don't have enough power, enough Light, to protect my comrades, much less save Maria…'

Suddenly, the Shining Make Dresser appeared by Blue and Kuro. Its mirror glowed, and then Light shot out from it, gathering in front of Kuro and forming into a Card.

"A… A PreCard?" Cure Princess stared.

"…No" Cure Honey replied. "That's not a PreCard… It's a Servant Class Card!"

"…Kuro-chan! Use this!"

As the Class Card floated down into Kuro's hand, and she recognized the warrior's image on its face, she turned as Cure Fortune tossed her something: Cure Tender's old PreChange Mirror. Nodding, she slotted the card into the device, and it melded into her, enveloping her in Light.

"Install! Class Card: _Saber!_ "

The Light burst, and wind blew out from Kuro as magical power flowed through and out from her. Her outfit had transformed, looking like an elegant blue & white dress with plates of gleaming silver armor. Then, she held her hands high, and a mass of Light formed and condensed, taking shape:

"Come forth! Divine Blade: _Excalibur!-!_ "

The beautiful longsword – arcane fae runes carved into the blade, the handle gleaming gold & blue – glowed faintly with Light.

" _What… is that?!_ " Queen Mirage looked genuinely shaken by what she was sensing.

"It's a Divine Construct," Blue replied, "created by the Earth of Kuro-chan's home Realm, pure Hope and Light forged into a weapon to cleave through evil, the Holy Sword of Queen Artoria. That, Mirage, is the Noble Phantasm 'Excalibur'!"

Excalibur's Light flowed over the four Cures, mending their wounds somewhat and bolstering their resolve. Cure Fortune activated her Innocent Form, and Lovely, Princess, & Honey followed suit. Then, Kuro charged. Dark Tender formed a shimmering silver & purple sword and raised it just in time to block the young Tracer's opening strike; as the clang of metal on metal rang out, a blast of wind raced out behind Tender, who strained from the sheer might of the strike.

Dark Tender took to the air, and in response Blue focused & directed his power, and a pair of glowing blue feathered wings of magic formed on Kuro's back, letting her fly up in pursuit. The duo flitted about, clashing in midair with blasts of magic and clanging metal, moving almost too fast to track. As Saber-form Kuro broke off, Innocent-form Princess & Fortune moved in, battering at Dark Tender's guard and dodging her blade's swings & thrusts. Dark Tender blasted Cure Princess away and was about to fire a shot at Cure Honey, but a slicing wave of Light from Kuro's blade hit her, stunning her long enough for Honey's clover-shaped blast of Light magic to strike home. Cure Fortune moved in close and grappled with Dark Tender, trying again to reach her.

" _It's futile_ " Queen Mirage sneered.

"No, it's not!" Cure Lovely shouted. "Despite what you've come to believe, love and happiness are _not_ illusions! Everyone has someone who's precious to them! Even you, right, Mirage?!"

At Cure Lovely's words, Dark Tender stopped her assault, a haunted look on her face, and then clutched at her head.

"She's fighting it…" Kuro realized. "Maria's still in there somewhere!"

Unfortunately, Queen Mirage took notice, and sent another 'pulse' of controlling Dark magic into Cure Tender. The corrupted Cure then fired a massive wave of Darkness bolts that pushed the five girls down to the ground, battering at their defenses. Then, she began charging up an enormous amount of Darkness power, glaring down at the stunned heroines. In response, Saber-form Kuro held Excalibur high and back, and Light-based magical power gathered around it, a hot wind swirling around the girl as her blade glowed increasingly brightly, golden light forming around and extending from it. The others could do nothing but watch in awe as the two enormous powers built up.

The two combatants fired, matching huge waves of Light and Darkness rushing toward each other. The attacks met in the middle, and the earth shook as they strained against each other, light and magic filling the air. Then, Dark Tender's attack began to give way, and was abruptly shattered and dispersed by the blast from Excalibur, her eyes widening as the mass of golden Light streaked upward toward her. The resulting explosion rattled windows and blew away clouds, the heroines forced to shield their eyes.

After several seconds, a lone figure unsteadily floated down, landing hard on her feet. Dark Tender was panting for breath and obviously in pain, her outfit torn in places; her dark butterfly wings disintegrated as soon as her feet touched ground. Seconds later, Kuro collapsed to her hands & knees, her Saber Install coming undone, the Class Card and borrowed PreChange Mirror landing beneath her.

"That's enough, Maria" Cure Fortune pleaded. "Please, just-"

Dark Tender snarled and fired a Darkness blast at Cure Fortune. However, Cure Lovely rushed in, crying out as she leapt into the path of the attack, shielding her comrade. Seeing this happen, Dark Tender gasped, eyes going wide and briefly flickering back to their normal, lavender color as memories replayed. Queen Mirage's influence took hold, and Dark Tender conjured her sword and flash-stepped forward, appearing right in front of Cure Fortune. She swung down…

…and the blade stopped a mere inch from hitting its target. Dark Tender's body trembled, and she groaned and held a hand to her head.

"Please, _Onée-chan_ …" Fortune pleaded. "I know you're still there. No matter what Queen Mirage has done to you… I know you're still my beloved big sister. You always protected and looked out for me; you're still doing that even now. Please… Come back to me."

The red faded from Dark Tender's eyes, which then shed a tear. Then, however, she cried out as a black & purple aura enveloped her.

"G… Get back, Iona!" she cried. "I can't… control…!"

"No… No! I'm not losing you again! _Maria!-!_ "

Suddenly, a shining white light took form in front of Cure Fortune, the light rejuvenating the three other Cures and even restoring some of Blue & Kuro's expended energies. The Shining Make Dresser had moved to where it was needed, shining brighter than ever.

"It has responded to the strength and purity of Iona's emotions…" Blue observed. "Girls, now's your chance!"

The four Innocent Form Pretty Cures gathered around the Shining Make Dresser, and Innocent Lovely drew an infinity symbol across the mirror, causing a red ribbon symbol to light up. Kuro and Blue watched & listened as the sacred power built and moved, guided by the quartet's voices. Finally, the Dresser emitted beams of pink, purple, yellow, and pale-blue, and the girls were enshrouded in their respective colors, shining like angels as they dove at their opponent:

" _PreCure: Innocent Purification!-!_ "

The brilliant rainbow light shone out in all directions, engulfing everything. Blue took his chance to delve through the mirror portal to Queen Mirage's side, ready to confront her and tell her what he should have told her long ago. …Sadly, a mysterious, baleful red light would snatch her away before he could get through to her…

As the sacred Light faded, the girls gathered around the cleansed & freed Maria Hikawa, who soon stirred. The first thing she did was pull Iona into a hug, the younger girl bursting into tears and holding her sister like life depended on it.

"You've become so strong… Thank you, _all_ of you…"

"I think this is yours, _née-san_ " Kuro said with a grin as she staggered over, still a bit woozy from expending so much magical power, as she handed the borrowed PreChange Mirror back to its rightful owner. The Saber Card, meanwhile, had flown back through the Shining Make Dresser's mirror, returning to Illya.

"Are you okay, Kuro-chan?" Yuuko asked.

"I will be. My connection to the Grail will refill my magic reserves. It'll probably take a couple days, though; using Excalibur's power is _really_ taxing…" She looked at the reunion going on. "Worth it, though."

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

That evening, Maria was shown the magic 'footage' explaining the DDF, letting her know who Kuro was and represented, as well as seeing how things went for the HC Cures up til now; seeing how her little sister started out cold and angry and hateful toward Cure Princess, and then seeing her almost die at Kuro's hand, shook her deeply, but she could now see how their bonds had mended and strengthened.

The next day, Cure Tender managed to take down two Saiaku before the HC Cures could even arrive on the scene, deeply impressing Megumi, Hime, & Yuuko. However, she went quiet when it was suggested that she join the Happiness Charge team. When Megumi, Yuuko, and Iona & Maria were on their way home, Maria dropped the bombshell that tomorrow she would be heading over to the USA to be with her & Iona's parents and start helping other Pretty Cures who weren't doing so well in their fights against Phantom Empire forces.

Iona did not take this news well _at all_. After everything she'd been through to save Maria, her older sister was going to abandon her again? She ran home before anyone could stop her, and late that night she suddenly showed up in the family sparring room, challenging Maria to a match; if she won, Maria would stay. And despite how much Iona had grown in skill, it only took a few exchanges for Maria to win. She tried to talk with Iona after the fight, but the younger girl wasn't having any of it; she ran off, smacking Maria's hand away, and actually somehow conjured a star-shaped barrier despite being in civilian clothes that held just long enough to keep Maria from chasing after her as she fled the household, running to the Blue-Sky Embassy for the night.

'She's leaving me behind…' Iona thought as she drifted off into fitful sleep. 'I went through… so much to save _onée-chan_ , but… she's abandoning me… again…'

As the girl fell asleep, a mysterious black-cloaked figure quietly opened her window from the outside…

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

 **A Couple Days Later – U.S.A. – 9PM local**

Cure Tender watched as another Saiaku vanished, the person it was created from being freed. She let out a sigh as she stood beneath the clouded night sky. In the end, her sister hadn't shown her face around her again before she left, not even to accompany her to the airport. A Saiaku had come out to 'play' while she was on her way out, and Kuro-chan had shown up to keep it at bay long enough for Cures Lovely, Princess, & Honey to arrive… but Cure Fortune didn't come. Thankfully, it had been low-level enough that a Twin Miracle Power Shoot was enough to cleanse it…

"So you're Cure Tender – Maria Hikawa…"

Cure Tender startled, turning to face where the sudden man's voice had come from, seeing only the barest hint of a figure hidden in some shadows nearby.

"Another of Queen Mirage's servants come to make trouble?" she took a stance.

"I am not affiliated with the Phantom Empire" the figure replied. "I serve a different master."

The figure strode out, lowering the hood of his black cloak. Cure Tender stiffened, eyes going wide with shock and a hint of fear, as she beheld the cold, calculating gaze of Saïx fixed upon her.

"W… What are _you_ doing here, Seeker of Darkness?" she asked, glaring at the man.

"Keeping you occupied" the servant of Xehanort replied. "As we speak, Xigbar and Checker Monarch are finishing up a barrier around the city of Pikarogaoka and its surrounding areas. The barrier uses a drop of your blood, shed during one of your earlier battles, as an ingredient; it is meant to keep you out. It will not last forever, of course; a barrier of that scale will degrade and deteriorate, eventually coming undone on its own. But by then, it will be too late."

Cure Tender snarled, a lavender aura wavering around her. "What are you going to do to the girls?!"

"You are mistaken; we haven't targeted the 'Happiness Charge' Cures as a whole." Saïx began to slowly pace, ignoring how Cure Tender's face & body language were like an angry snake coiled to strike. "Your little sister has some… issues resulting from all that has happened between the two of you. In particular, your decision to leave Japan in those girls' hands, travel to another continent, and leave her behind, gave her feelings of loneliness, abandonment, and even betrayal and a hint of resentment. We detected that, and so…"

The blue-haired man smirked. "Master's Heartless crept into Iona's room as she slept, and planted a 'Seed of Darkness' into her Heart. It will feed off those emotions of hers, slowly amplifying and twisting her feelings toward you into betrayal, resentment, anger… _hate_. And one day, with the right trigger, it will all burst forth, and she will be engulfed in the Darkness, aiding in the bringing of ruin to this World. And when she falls fully and becomes a Heartless, her resultant Nobody will be a fine new vessel for Master Xehanort's essence."

Now, Cure Tender's face was in an expression of utter horror, as she comprehended the magnitude of what had been done to her baby sister. Out of desperation, she prepared to flee and try to find some way, any way to get back to Iona's side before the barrier was completed… only for Saïx to bar her path, and then stomp to summon a barrier around 70 meters across to entrap her in with him.

"You're not going anywhere just yet" he said, summoning his claymore. "As I said, I'm here to keep you occupied, keep you from interfering."

Cure Tender's expression changed to one of rage, and with a flash of pale-purple light she formed a sword of magical energy – Tender Star Saber. She charged, unleashing a rapid flurry of strikes, but Saïx somehow managed to move that big, unwieldy-looking weapon of his with enough grace and speed to block every one of her blows. Then, he made a single wide swing with so much force behind it that even blocking it sent Cure Tender skidding back several feet.

Saïx swung his blade a few times, each swing releasing a fast crescent-shaped slicing wave of energy. Cure Tender formed a star-shaped shield, and when she saw the first cutting wave near-completely gouge through it she leapt out of the way to dodge the rest instead of relying on her conjured defense. She fired a lavender-hued magic blast down at Saïx, who crossed his arms to block the hit, skidding back a couple meters, and then charged in to meet her as she landed, hitting her in the side with a heavy swing that sent her tumbling. He then leapt high to bring his weapon down on her from above, but she rolled out of the way and hit him with a rising kick to the jaw that sent him stumbling back, and then a quick-fired magic blast that knocked him over.

"Impressive…" he remarked with a slight groan as he sprang back up to his feet. "But how long can you keep it up?"

She responded by firing a star-shaped energy blast at him, but he leapt high to avoid it and then fired several Darkness-type _Sagitta Magica_ down at her. Cure Tender batted them away with her sword and her hand, but then Saïx came back down and moved in with a knee to her gut, staggering her; even stunned, though, she managed to roll to the side to avoid his follow-up claymore strike, and blasted him with a close-range star-shaped dual eye-beam shot. Frowning, Saïx shifted his grip on his weapon and moved to engage her in another duel, enchanted weapon and mana-forged weapon clashing in the night.

As the fight rolled on for a few more minutes, it seemed the two were evenly matched; in fact, Cure Tender appeared to have the slight edge in this fight. However, as they broke off to stare each other down for a moment, the clouds overhead finally blew away, allowing the full moon's light to shine down on the battlefield. Saïx's impassive expression changed to a confident smirk, his body shimmering as he absorbed the natural magical energy in the moonlight.

Cure Tender remembered what Saïx could do, realized what was happening, just as the man's power _flared_ , a raging aura springing up around him as he roared out. His eyes became a uniform glowing golden-yellow, his hair bushed out and became messier, and the X-shaped scar on his face became more pronounced and jagged. Finally, the tip of his claymore split into two large, identical halves, each with four massive, pale-blue bladed spikes of 'solid Moonlight'. Cure Tender took a step back, feeling instinctive fear at the sudden surge in his power level; compared to absorbing the light of the moon-like Lesser Kingdom Hearts, taking in the power of the actual Moon had boosted his power level significantly higher.

She fired another star-shaped magic blast at Saïx, who simply stood in place and let it crash into him, barely even budging. Then, with a roar, he rushed at her with frightening speed, effortlessly deflecting the optic blast she fired at him. He vanished from sight with a burst of speed, and before she could realize what was happening his kick to the side of her head sent her flying, bouncing along the pavement and slamming into the barrier. Groaning, Cure Tender got to her feet, and then frantically started moving to dodge and outrun a flurry of brightly-glowing, slicing waves of deadly magic being flung at her. Saïx leapt in, unleashing a damaging shockwave upon landing that blasted Tender back. Then, he flashed forward and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her off the ground as she struggled.

"All shall be lost to you…" he growled.

He dropped her, and as she fell he hit her in the gut with a rising uppercut that bent her over his fist and made a sound like a cannon firing. Then, he flung her into the air, only to catch her with his blade and then slam her into the ground so hard that it shattered the pavement for several meters around, creating a sizable crater. When the dust faded, Maria's transformation had come undone, leaving her lying there weakly groaning, trying to move.

The gleaming light lessened as Saïx released his enhanced state, and he began to walk away, undoing the barrier around the area. "My work here is done" he said. "That was more than enough time for the barrier to be erected. The next time you see your sister, she will belong to the Darkness. Treasure this World's Light while you still can, for soon it shall be blotted out."

As he vanished through a Corridor of Darkness, Maria lay there in the crater, defeat and worry and sorrow eating at her Heart. All she could do was hope and pray that Iona was strong enough to resist, that her friends might be able to become aware of what had happened and stop it before it was too late…

 **-** ** _CHAPTER END_** **-**

Next Time: assault on the Phantom Empire…


	9. Happiness Charge 4

Note: Dialogue may be missing or incorrect at points; the streams I watched were… testy, with attempts to pause more often than not causing pop-ups that set off my antivirus protection. So instead of being able to watch & type at the same time, I had to watch each episode in its entirety and then run off memory for the associated section of the chapter.

 **PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** ** _CHAPTER START_** **-**

 **Realm PC-8**

In the past few days since Maria departed, Iona had been acting a little… off. The girls (and Blue & Seiji) had realized that her sister was probably a very touchy subject right now, so they tried not to mention her within earshot of Iona. The girl had seemed a little listless, a little less energetic, not smiling as much or as brightly, and Glasan claimed her sleep was somewhat restless and fitful. However, she still tried her best to enjoy her time with her friends.

Before long, a school holiday arrived, and the girls decided to celebrate with a picnic by the town's river. However, the Phantom Trio, apparently desperate and convinced this would be their final chance, attacked and combined their powers to create a huge _horde_ of Saiaku. But they'd underestimated how much the four Cures had grown, how strong they had become; as Kuro happily taught a swarm of Choiaku the meaning of terror, the Cure Quartet began bulldozing their way through the mass of Saiaku with ease, making sport of the once-fearsome foes. Even an extra-large Saiaku posed little threat, the lesser Saiaku being used as unwilling projectiles against it.

At the peak of desperation, Oresky, Namekeruda, & Hosshiiwa melded all of the dark beings together into an enormous titan of a Saiaku. However, not only did the Cures not need Kuro's help in bringing it down (as a side note, some of the Choiaku were even trying to surrender and pledge service to her if only she'd stop brutalizing and terrorizing them), they didn't even need their new 'Innocent Purification' ultra-finisher to finish the monster off; a Happiness Big Bang was enough to cleanse the Saiaku and free all the people, leaving the humiliated and nearly-purified Phantom Trio to beat a hasty retreat.

- _Break_ -

The trouble came almost without warning, as suddenly, enormous red-framed mirrors appeared and projected Queen Mirage's image all over the world. Then, her power pulsed out, and _thousands_ of Saiaku were birthed across the nations. Gathering in the Cross Mirror Room, the hero group realized it was time to travel to the conquered Blue Sky Kingdom and finally bring things to an end. Megumi, Hime, Yuuko, Iona, Kuro, Blue, and Ribbon & Glasan crossed through, appearing on the outskirts of Hime's old homeland.

The girls transformed, with Blue again using a bit of magic to give Kuro glowing blue wings of magic so she could join the Cures in the air. Unlike the last time they were here, the Happiness Charge Cures' powers were not weakened in the slightest, allowing them to easily bust their way through the horde of knight-themed Saiaku trying to bar the group's path. They carved their way through the resistance and pressed on, heading for the palace.

However, as they advanced, they soon flew into a thick bank of dark-magic fog; it didn't hurt them, but they were all left disoriented and became separated. Over the next several minutes, most of them wandered aimlessly, the dark mist obscuring their senses. Then, though, Cure Honey's voice rang out in a long, echoing, purifying note, and her teammates followed the sound, arriving just in time to see Blue getting back up on his feet and Cure Honey staring down Phantom, who suddenly roared out as a massive surge of Darkness power engulfed and emanated from him, blasting Honey back to be caught by Lovely & Princess.

"I feel a dark and terrible unknown power!" Ribbon cried out as she looked up at the red-enveloped Phantom. "A deep, poisonous sorrow and rage!"

Then, before anyone could react any further, Phantom's glowing-red eyes flashed as he released a rushing wave of red & black Dark magic that moved far too fast to avoid, engulfing the immediate area. When it faded, the four Cures, two fairies, and even Blue were all trapped in 'Mirror Coffins'; they were different from normal, the trapped victims' faces awake and frozen in expressions of shock, the glowing red binds across the fronts sturdier and greater in number than usual. Phantom slowly floated down to the ground, panting softly as he looked at his captures.

'Now Mirage-sama can finally-'

Acting on instinct, he threw himself forward, barely dodging the falling strike of a huge greatsword. His glowing eyes glared at Kuro, whose 'partial Sharingan' looked over him and the mirror-coffins.

"It's not like whatever spell you usually use to capture people" she observed. "You're having to devote a small piece of your power to continuously keep them bound and frozen. And I'd bet you can't cast it again to capture me without freeing them in the process."

"…It just means I'll have to deal with you the hard way" the man replied.

"I've realized you have some degree of sympathetic motive…" She summoned her mated blades, Kanshou & Bakuya. "But given the current situation, I don't have time to be nice. I'm going to rescue my comrades, no matter what I have to do! Trace: Overedge!"

Kuro's blades were engulfed in razor-sharp scale-like projections, nearly doubling in length. She charged, and Phantom drew his sword (presently red with a black edge) and went on the defensive, backstepping and blocking against her rapid swings & thrusts. Finally, he took a split-second opening, lashing out with a straight kick that knocked her back several meters. She threw her swords at him and triggered them to explode, but before the smoke from the blasts had even cleared a tightly-packed cluster of Dark-magic bolts shot out and slammed into her, blasting her back.

Gritting her teeth, Kuro 'Traced' Future Trunks' sword and flew upward, unleashing a barrage of _ki_ blasts down at Phantom. Phantom's arm moved in a near-blur as he used his sword to bat the blasts away, and then flew up to meet her in a rapid exchange of clashing blades, the clanging of metal on metal ringing out like machinegun fire as the two fighters moved with blistering speed. Breaking off and getting several meters' distance, Kuro fired a Buster Cannon blast at Phantom, who countered with a focused blast of Dark power. After a few seconds, Phantom's blast won out, bursting through Kuro's attack and slamming into the surprised girl, who cried out as she was blasted back & down, crashing to the ground.

(MUSIC: Fate/Stay Night UBW OST 2 – "Into the Night" (extended?))

"You can make as many swords as you want," he said to her as she struggled to her feet, "it won't change anything. You can't beat me like this. Copying the weapons of others… You are a counterfeiter, a _faker_. And no amount of swords you make will bring you victory here!"

"…I think you're misunderstanding something. My Projection magic doesn't actually create these swords. My skill… is to give form to what lies within my soul!"

She held her hand forward, and it felt like the earth 'pulsed'.

" _Waré wa Waga Tsurugi no Shin!_ " {我は我が剣の芯} { _I am the core of my sword_ }

Wind surged around and out from Kuro. For a mere instant, a large dull-red magic circle formed beneath her feet, inscribed with incomprehensible runes from a language older than language, older than humanity.

" _Chishio wa tetsu de, kokoro wa garasu…_ " {血潮は鉄で心は硝子} { _My blood is of iron, and my heart is of glass…_ }

Crackling magical power began to build, swirling in the air.

" _Ikutabi no senjou wo koete fuhai,_ " {幾たびの戦場を越えて不敗} { _I have overcome countless battlefields,_ }

Growling, Phantom fired a barrage of Darkness blasts at Kuro…

" _Tada no ichido mo haisou wa naku, tada no ichido mo rikai sarenai…_ " {ただの一度の敗走もなく、ただの一度の理解されない} { _Not even once retreating, not even once being understood…_ }

…only for her _Rho Aias_ to spring into being, blocking the blasts and allowing her invocation to progress unmolested.

" _Nitai-te wa koko ni hitori, tsurugi no oka de tetsu wo utsu…_ " {担い手はここに孤り、剣の丘で鉄を鍛つ} { _The bearer lies here alone, forging iron upon a hill of swords…_ }

To Phantom, it felt as if the World itself was now trembling, power building within and around Kuro. He continued firing, trying in vain to batter through Kuro's shield.

" _Naraba, waga shougai ni imi wa irazu!_ " {ならば、我が生涯に意味は不要ず} { _Thus, my life needs no meaning_ }

Power grew and converged, reality itself beginning to ripple…

" _Kono inochi wa,_ _ **Mugen no Tsurugi de dekite-ita!**_ " {この命は、無限の剣で出来ていた} { _This life is_ _ **made of infinite blades!**_ }

There was a flash of light and 'flame' that engulfed all. When Phantom opened his eyes, he and Kuro now stood in the middle of an endless field, dusty earth broken by patches of living greenery, tall grass with red and golden flowers. Reddish clouds floated overhead, letting through patches of sunlight, revealing a blue sky with scattered rifts in reality, stable and hauntingly beautiful, together with a few giant gears slowly rotating. And hundreds, _thousands_ of bladed weapons lay scattered all around as far as the eye could see, silent sentinels embedded into the earth.

"This… This is not a normal Bounded Field" Phantom observed.

"It's a 'Reality Marble'" Kuro replied. "It is the manifestation of my Heart, my _soul_ , made real to overwrite reality itself in this area. I don't create swords; I create a World that contains infinite swords. This is the magic of he who I inherited my powers from, the Heroic Spirit Emiya."

"…Hmph. And what can you do with this barren, empty mental landscape?"

Phantom began to charge several bolts of red & black Dark power around him. Suddenly, a 'copy' of _Kusanagi no Tsurugi_ sprang up and slashed them all away, and his glowing-red eyes widened with shock.

(MUSIC: Fate/Stay UBW Unreleased track – that somber-sounding song that plays after Shirou slashes away Gilgamesh's first portals and then taunts him)

"Don't look so surprised. Everything here is technically a 'fake'. But, there's nothing that says a copy can't match or even surpass the genuine article. I have an infinite arsenal at my disposal, and I'm prepared to use every one of them to save my friends from you." Kuro smirked. "Let's go, 'PreCure Hunter'. Is your conviction strong enough to stop me?"

Phantom growled, glaring at her. "You do not fear me. That's a mistake I'm going to _thoroughly_ correct…"

(MUSIC: Fate/Stay UBW Unreleased track – the classical-heroic-sounding, brass & strings song that plays in the middle of Shirou & Gilgamesh's fight)

Phantom formed & fired several spear-shaped masses of Dark magical power, sending them streaking toward Kuro. In response, an equal number of swords & polearms emerged at Kuro's mental command and shot at the incoming mana-projectiles, blowing them out of the air, and then more of them floated up from their resting points and flung themselves at Phantom, who barely leapt out of the way in time as they left little craters around where he'd just been standing. He rushed at her with blade drawn, and she called forth Sasuke's sword, Lightning-type chakra crackling around it as they clashed. After trying to push against each other's swords for a moment, Phantom had to leap back as Kuro willed a handful of blades to rise up and then stab down at him.

Kuro called forth the "Executioner's Blade" of Momochi Zabuza, the little girl now holding a sword bigger than she was as she made a seal with her free hand. Thick mist enveloped the immediate area, and Phantom went on-guard as he lost sight of Kuro. He waited for several seconds, and then abruptly threw himself forward to avoid an overhead swing of the massive blade meant to split him in two. He dodged a few more such 'Silent Killing' attempts, and then roared out and let his dark power blow the mist away, to reveal Kuro's hands weaving hand-seals around the hilt, a huge mass of water being conjured, swirling up and taking the shape of a massive serpentine dragon. Kuro bade the construct to rush at Phantom, but he charged power into his sword and cleaved the mass of water in two with a slicing wave of Darkness, dispelling it.

"Enough of this, Phantom!" Kuro shouted. "We came here to _help_ Mirage, free her from the toxic Darkness that's got a hold of her Heart! Stand down and release my comrades, or you might not live to see her redeemed!"

In response, Phantom's dark aura flared larger, the red glow of his eyes brightening. "You know _nothing_! That self-righteous attitude is what has caused Lady Mirage such pain! I'll bring her happiness when I bring her all your heads!"

He charged, faster than before, and Kuro cried out as his blow knocked the massive Executioner's Blade out of her hands, sending it spinning into the distance. She quickly conjured Kanshou & Bakuya, going on the defensive against his frantic assault of rapid yet crushingly powerful blows. She willed several of the endless field's blades to fly up and attack him from different angles, but he spun like a top and generated a whirling, slashing Darkness-energy field that deflected them and also sent her flying back. As he came out of the spin, she spat a sizable _Katon: Gōkakyū_ at him, but he stowed his sword and caught the fireball with his bare hands, straining for but a moment before kicking it up into the sky.

Phantom then fired a huge ball of Darkness energy at Kuro, who tried to leap away but was partially caught in the blast, sent tumbling across the dusty ground. She groaned as she got up on one knee, while Phantom stood watching and waiting, his eyes glowing red as a dark-red aura surrounded him.

'E… Even with Unlimited Blade Works, I'm… not strong enough? I was… going to introduce these girls to… Illya, and Miyu; they would've gotten along great. But… I…'

(MUSIC: Fate/Stay UBW OST 2 – "EMIYA" (extended?))

Images, memories, flashed through Kuro's mind – fighting beside the Cures, laughing and having fun together with Megumi, Hime, Yuuko, & Iona, being looked after by Blue, being shown kindnesses by other people in Pikarigaoka, the warmth she felt whenever she & the Cures saved someone from sadness and loneliness…

'No… No, I can't… I _won't_ fall here. They're depending on me. My comrades, my _friends_ need me! I'm the only one who can save them! And… And they're the only ones who can save Cure Mirage from her rage and despair, and in so doing save all the captive Cures, all the people of this world! I won't let my friends down like this!'

As she stood tall, an ambiguous long, thin mass of sparkling Light formed in her hands. Gripping it like a sword, she charged at Phantom, her body now wreathed in a glistening aura of Light, crashing her still-forming weapon against his Darkness-enchanted blade.

"You're not going to beat me," she growled, "not when so much is at stake! I'm taking my friends _back_!"

As she knocked Phantom's sword out of his hands and up into the air, the mass of Light in her hands finally took form: a red, one-edged sword with a white inner edge, with a yellow wing sweeping around it to form 'teeth' near the tip, a greyish hilt with a rainbow-colored ring, a deep-red handle with a sweeping blue wing as the guard, and a little shooting star with bow shock attached to the end of a small chain. This was no Traced copy; it was 'Divewing' – a real, true _Keyblade_.

"You… Damn you!" Phantom conjured a few Dark Spears that shot down at Kuro, who leapt back to avoid them in the blink of an eye. As he glared hatefully at her, several more blasts and spears formed around him, pointed at her. "To think I would have to go all-out against a little wretch like _you_!"

Phantom willed the mass of readied attacks to all fire at once. Kuro struck the first few Dark Spears with her new Divewing, shattering them, and then several different Traced Keyblades were willed into existence and flung themselves at the rest of the incoming attacks, some of them breaking through and flying at Phantom, forcing him to block and dodge. She then conjured a _Sagitta Magica_ barrage that crashed against the second wave of blasts Phantom had been in the midst of conjuring, shattering them.

With a war-cry, Kuro charged, not even breaking stride as she used Divewing to smack aside the panicked dark-red blasts Phantom fired at her. She got in close, ducking under his guard, and hit him with a combo of blows that sent him reeling. Snarling, he blasted her back with a directed shockwave, and then conjured dozens of Dark Blasts and Dark Spears pointed at Kuro from all directions. They all came in at once, producing a mighty explosion that seemingly engulfed the girl.

Then, following an instinct, Phantom looked up to see Kuro high over the blast area, a _Rho Aias_ shield partially wrapped around her. She formed a solid Rune Shield and kicked off it, launching herself down at him. Phantom drew his blade, which shone with baleful red & black light, and then thrusted it up at the incoming girl, releasing a tearing torrent of Darkness aimed at her. …And in response, she briefly vanished, teleporting herself a meter to the side, dodging the energy wave and still coming down at him with no speed lost.

Kuro struck true with her Keyblade, cleanly slicing Phantom's sword arm off just above the elbow. As Phantom reeled, an expression of horrified shock on his face, Kuro's left hand came away from her Divewing's hilt and manifested a _Bakuya_ blade. She lunged at him with a downward swing, and he tried to jump back in a futile move to dodge. There was a sound of tearing cloth & flesh, and the World lurched…

(END)

With several muted flashes of light, the trapped Cures, fairies, and Blue were freed. As they regained their footing, they gasped as they were met with two shocking sights: Kuro holding a Keyblade as she softly panted for breath, and Phantom on his knees, the black & red aura around him wavering weakly, his right arm gone and a big, bloody slice cut down through his right shoulder and into his chest. By all rights, he shouldn't even be alive, yet not only was he conscious, he was slowly raising his left arm, pointing a hand with a slowly, weakly charging Dark Blast at the group.

Kuro sighed, gripping Divewing with both hands and pointing the tip at him, Light beginning to gather there. Cure Honey came up and placed her hands on the handle alongside Kuro's, and then the other three Cures did the same. They all transitioned to their Innocent Forms, and the Light grew and shimmered with rainbow hues. It fired as a thin beam which struck Phantom in the chest, and shining light spread to envelop him, Darkness visibly being burned away.

'That's right… My wish… I just wanted… to see her smile again, just like she did before…'

When the Light faded, Phantom had vanished; instead, lying on the ground was…

"Huh… Huh?!" Cure Princess stared, jaw agape. "Phantom was a _fairy_?!"

…A cute, doll-like little fairy like Ribbon & Glasan, albeit darker in color and wearing a jumpsuit or something instead of a dress. The little fairy opened its eyes, which glistened with a hint of tears.

"I see…" Blue said with realization. "Your loyalty to her… You're Cure Mirage's…"

The fairy nodded. "I am… her fairy partner, PhanPhan. After Cure Mirage fell to Darkness and sorrow and hate, I… I wanted so badly to help her, but I didn't know how! I… Please… You have to save her, before she's completely consumed by that Darkness!"

"…You've done so much to try to help her" Cure Lovely said. "Now, it's almost time to see that effort pay off. Are you willing to help us save her?"

"O… Of course!"

"Then let's go!"

- _Break_ -

The castle doors were thrown open dramatically. As soon as the group stormed in, a humongous horde of Choiaku came out of the woodwork to bar their path. However, the mass of low-level enemies barely slowed the group down; the Cures easily bulldozed through Choiaku by the dozens, Kuro's Keyblade had them running scared from her, and even Blue got in on the action, launching one Choiaku that tried to attack him with a straight kick and then telekinetically grabbing a pack of them, hoisting them a few feet into the air, and then slamming them down so hard they bounced.

After clearing through the minions, the gang was hurrying across the bridge connecting to the castle's main tower when Oresky came diving in with a punch that knocked Cure Lovely back, followed by Namakeruda & Hosshiiwa floating down beside him. Cure Lovely, Blue, and the fairy trio went on ahead while Cure Princess engaged Namakeruda, Cure Fortune went one-on-one with Oresky, and Kuro helped Cure Honey against Hosshiiwa.

After being beaten around a bit, the three Cures found their inner strength and conviction, and used their Innocent Forms to not only defeat the Phantom Trio, but purify them, sending their essences floating away somewhere… However, Cure Fortune was left slightly confused after she reverted to her normal form; why did she feel a little winded and tight in the chest after using Innocent Form?

Meanwhile, Blue, Cure Lovely, & the fairies finally arrived at Queen Mirage's throne room, finding the woman lounging on her plush throne, eyes glowing red as a dull black aura simmered around her.

"Mirage!" Blue called out.

In response, the woman slammed the bottom point of her staff to the ground, releasing a hot red wind that blasted the duo back.

"Do not call my name so casually!" she shouted. "…Cure Lovely." She got to her feet, her dark aura growing larger and wilder. "I will make Blue suffer as he made me suffer… by killing you right before his eyes!"

A multitude of bright red ribbon-like Binds suddenly materialized around Blue, entrapping him and hoisting him into the air against the far wall. Then, the butterfly-like objects sprouted from Queen Mirage's back transformed into four large, grey-feathered wings. A dark-red aura seethed around her, as the throne room transformed, pillars emerging and tainted-looking water flooding in to shin height.

"This world is destined to be seeped in misfortune…" she proclaimed. "Happiness is fleeting, and love is an illusion that brings sorrow and pain. I will lead this world into ruin!"

"You're wrong!" Cure Lovely formed a Lovely Rising Sword. "Love and happiness are eternal things that everyone in the world has the ability to feel. I'm going to show you the Light you've lost sight of, and save everyone who's lost in darkness and despair, including _you_!"

Growling, Queen Mirage flew down at Cure Lovely, staff and sword clashing. It didn't take very long for Mirage to outmaneuver and overpower Lovely, shattering the girl's mana-forged sword and hitting her with a sledgehammer blow of dark magic. They grappled, and Queen Mirage fired a finger-beam blast of dark power at one of the mirrors lining the upper walls of the chamber; it bounced to another mirror, and then came down and hit Cure Lovely from behind.

Queen Mirage floated up & back, firing a Darkness blast down at Cure Lovely, who batted it aside and then launched a barrage of bright pink energy blasts that seemed to go wide, missing Mirage by a mile… but they all hung in the air around her, and then Cure Lovely swept her arms inward, making the numerous magic blasts all shoot in at Queen Mirage at once. Unfortunately, the evil Queen formed a barrier around herself that protected her from the blasts and from Cure Lovely's follow-up punch. She grabbed hold of Lovely's wrist, and then flung her down into the shallow water with a splash and thud. This was followed by an explosive Darkness blast that sent Cure Lovely reeling, leaving her on her hands & knees in the water.

"This is pathetic…" Queen Mirage sneered as she set down, using her staff to telekinetically lift Cure Lovely up by the throat. Lovely managed to bring her hands up and break free, but then Mirage formed three magic-based Shadow Clones and proceeded to gang up on Cure Lovely, ruthlessly beating her around for a little while. Then, she cocooned Lovely in front of the massive 'Deep Mirror', which showed an image of Mirage wrapped in red binds, eyes closed as if sleeping. Reading the image's expression, Cure Lovely's eyes widened… just before a torrent of black & red lightning engulfed her from all directions. As she fell to the water-covered floor, Queen Mirage fired a tiny orb of Darkness power down at her… and when it hit, it expanded into a great explosion that engulfed her and sent shockwaves through the castle.

Queen Mirage stood in a little boat, slowly floating across the waters, stopping by Cure Lovely as the girl floated limp atop the surface.

"Foolish girl…" she said with scorn and the barest hint of pity. "See where your belief in 'love' has gotten you… There is no room for such painful things in my world. I will spread this misfortune and despair to all. That is my earnest wish…"

"…You're wrong" Cure Lovely got to her feet with only a little unsteadiness, to Queen Mirage's surprise. "As we fought, I could feel your conviction, read your emotions… And I know, without a doubt, that deep inside, you still love Blue with all your heart!"

Queen Mirage gasped, the boat rocking as she staggered from the shock, but then she snarled, brandishing her staff. "What do _you_ know?! Love is pain! I cast it aside long ago! My wish is to spread misfortune across this wretched world!"

"Liar! …You're lying to yourself, Mirage. I've seen your heart, your true desire. …Losing friendship and love can leave great pain in your heart, but that wound can heal, and the good things that came from those feelings never leave."

"How… can you say that?"

"Because I feel the same way about him!" Lovely confessed. "I love Blue just like you do!"

After a few seconds of shocked silence, Queen Mirage let out a humorless laugh. "You naïve fool. He doesn't love you! He's just using you as a Pretty Cure, as a tool to protect his precious little planet!"

"Even if that's true… Whenever I'm with him, I've felt safe, warm inside, confident, happy, like I _mean_ something. He's given me so much. And even though my feelings can't be returned… that happiness will never go away!"

Queen Mirage swung her staff at Cure Lovely, who ducked under and then formed her outfit's wings for a flying tackle that slammed Mirage's back into the massive 'Deep Mirror', cracking it. A brilliant light enveloped Lovely as she assumed her Innocent Form, pushing against Mirage and slowly forcing her back.

"Wake up, Mirage!" Innocent Lovely shouted. "I know this isn't the real you! You still love Blue, and I know without doubt that he still loves _you_! Whenever he's with the Axia Box, he always has a sad, heartbroken look on his face! He left you behind because he thought he _had_ to, even though it _tore him apart_ inside! I'm not going to let you allow yourself to drown in this despair! You still have a chance to reclaim that happiness! I'll save you from yourself, no matter what it takes!"

Finally, the 'Deep Mirror' shattered into a thousand shards of Light. Innocent Lovely had a hold of Queen Mirage's wrist as they slowly drifted down toward the ground, the corrupted woman's expression softening as Lovely's words and Light began to erode at the darkness and pain engulfing her heart, the red glow of her eyes fading.

…And then, everyone 'perceived' a split-second image of a pair of glowing red evil eyes, and then Cure Lovely was thrown back by an explosion of Dark power around Queen Mirage, evil flames engulfing her. Darkness was poured into her Heart and mind, twisting and corrupting, filling her with an overpowering, toxic, universal _hate_. Outside, an enormous torrent of Dark power sprang up around the castle tower and spread out to rapidly envelop nearly the entire Blue Sky Kingdom, leveling buildings and engulfing the ruins in unholy flames.

Queen Mirage had now undergone a frightening transformation: her outfit and wings looked burnt and charred, her eyes glowed red, and her previously-immaculate hair was spiked out wildly. As soon as she saw Innocent Lovely setting Blue down at the base of the spire, she dove at the girl, hitting her with a flaming tackle that knocked the girl clear out of the castle grounds and down into the surrounding rocky ground far below. The two of them flew about, auras of pink and dark-red clashing into each other, sending shockwaves through the air.

"Stop this, Mirage!" Innocent Lovely shouted. "If you keep this up, you'll destroy the world, _and_ yourself!"

" **I** do **n** 't c **a** re!" the corrupted woman snarled, trying to bash Lovely's skull in with her bare (well, gloved) hands. "I wi **l** l burn **_everything!-!_** "

Knocking Innocent Lovely down to the ground, Mirage fired a wave of Darkness wreathed in evil fire, aimed to incinerate the pink-haired heroine. However, a shining blue & yellow wall of magic suddenly formed in the attack's path, stopping it cold. When the smoke and flames faded, Innocent Princess and Innocent Honey stood in defense of their leader, with Kuro and Innocent Fortune to either side.

"Are you okay?" Cure Honey asked.

"Thanks to you girls" Lovely replied. "She's suffering…"

"Then let's free her from her torment" Cure Fortune replied. "It's time to finally return good fortune to her life…"

"Give her the courage to let go of the Darkness…" Cure Princess continued.

"Offer her the kindness she's been without for so long…" Cure Honey continued.

"…And rekindle the light of Love in her Heart!" Cure Lovely finished.

Light swirled together, taking the form of the team's magical artifact wreathed in light.

"Sparkle! Shining Make Dresser!"

As the Dresser floated down before the quartet, Innocent Lovely used her pen/mic to draw an infinity symbol on the mirror-screen, which then flashed with vibrant color. The girls' heart-song began to ring out, resonating through the air and the Hearts of those who heard it. Light swirled and flashed, building and growing, until finally the music and the power reached a crescendo, enveloping the girls in their respective colors of Light, and they dove at the corrupted Mirage:

"PreCure: _Innocent Purification!_ "

The brilliant, beautiful light exploded outward, engulfing the entire Blue Sky Kingdom. Damage was magically undone, the fires doused and the structures repaired, the castle returned to its former glory. All over Earth, the trapped people were freed, the darkness retreating; within the 'Cure Graveyard', all the defeated & trapped Pretty Cures found themselves freed and awakened.

Beneath a crystal-blue sky, the purified Mirage knelt, her grey wings slowly coming away; her hair had changed to its original black, her eyes their normal blue. She looked up as she heard footsteps, as Blue walked over and knelt down in front of her, embracing her.

"Mirage…" he whispered. "I'm so sorry I never said what I truly felt. I _love_ you. I always have, even through all these centuries… I'm not going to let you go again."

Tears began to fall from the woman's eyes, erasing the tear-shaped mark on her left cheek. She held him tight, and they kissed under the sun's pure rays. At a distance, the girls watched, two of them holding hands to their chests; Cure Lovely shed tears of her own, feeling joy at the redemption and love, but also pain at the confirmation her feelings would never be requited. Fortune, meanwhile, was softly panting; why, after using Innocent Form and the team's ultimate purifying technique, did her chest hurt?

- _Break_ -

In a dark room dimly lit by red light, a lone figure sat amongst several broken mirrors floating around him, sulking.

"To think they would purify Mirage…" he murmured in a low growl. "Cure Lovely is the key to all this, it would seem. …Blue. Just you wait; I will destroy _everything_ you hold dear…"

 **-** ** _CHAPTER END_** **-**

Next Time: the true enemy emerges.


	10. Happiness Charge 5

**PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** ** _CHAPTER START_** **-**

 **Realm PC-8**

In the wake of the climactic battle and the defeat/purification of the Phantom Empire, Hime got her long-awaited reunion with her parents the King & Queen of the Blue-Sky Kingdom, who were surprised to learn that their little girl had become a member of the world's most accomplished Pretty Cure team. Afterwards, everyone – including Blue & the purified Mirage (and PhanPhan) – headed back to Pikarigaoka, settling in to rest and recuperate. The Cures knew that the time would come before long for them to follow Kuro and aid the DDF, but until then it seemed they had some down-time. Kuro was still amazed that she'd managed to manifest a Keyblade of her own, _and_ that she'd successfully cast Unlimited Blade Works without another caster's assistance.

However, all was not well. Despite everything that had been accomplished, Megumi found herself unable to truly feel the jubilation and happiness that this victory should have brought her. An impromptu pajama party with the other girls helped a little, but she found herself waking in the middle of the night, dwelling on things and on the pain in her heart.

…She did not notice that hers was not the only fitful sleep. Lately, whenever Iona didn't have anything to distract her, her thoughts went to her older sister, and they were dark thoughts indeed – anger, resentment, bitterness, gradually twisting into something darker…

In any event, just after sunrise before the others were awake, Seiji invited Megumi out for a day on the town, taking in the festive atmosphere. For a few hours they simply enjoyed themselves and each other's company, ending up relaxing together by the river. While there, however, Megumi confessed to Seiji about the crushing pain she'd felt inside ever since the battle's climax: the pain of heartbreak, of knowing that Blue had chosen Mirage instead of her. The built-up pain came spilling out, the waterfront echoing with a heartbroken girl's sobbing cries…

Once Megumi had cried herself out, though, Seiji assured her that no matter what, she still had him, the girls, everyone there to support and be with her. In the awkward moment that followed, he'd hurried off to buy some drinks for the two of them. …And while he'd been gone, something had dropped out of the sky in front of Megumi that filled her with shock and dread: a Saiaku, its bulky body deep red instead of black. Megumi transformed, but her wavering heart lessened her effectiveness, and this Red Saiaku was stronger than any of the black ones had been.

Then, Cure Lovely had found herself in a mysterious dimly-lit red area, alone fighting the Saiaku, and then a mysterious man had appeared, whispering things to her – how everyone in the town was laughing and carefree while she suffered, how the one she loved her abandoned and refused her feelings, how she had earned the right to just make a new world, make the world like how she wanted it to be, take what she wanted and cast out what she didn't…

However, right when Lovely was about to completely surrender to the Darkness trying to force its way into her Heart, Seiji's voice calling out had snapped her out of her spiral of despair, reminding her of those precious to her. With newfound will, she'd ripped the dark crystal away from her Heart and crushed it, shattering the dark and barren illusory world she'd been fighting in and returning her to the normal world. In response, the mysterious man had appeared over the Saiaku's shoulder, lamenting that his plan to make Lovely into "the next Mirage" had failed, and then sicced the Saiaku on them.

Cure Lovely fought the Red Saiaku with ferocious determination and power, exchanging blows that shattered the landscape around them. Finally, she managed to catch its strongest blow and, with herculean effort, launch the monster high into the sky. She'd then collapsed from exhaustion, the Red Saiaku regaining control and diving down at her… only for Innocent Princess to bash it away with a supercharged headbutt, while Fortune & Honey helped Lovely up, the latter using Healing Rhythm on her. Kuro formed a Trace of Hiramekarei, forming a solid-chakra hammer and bashing the monster around to give Cure Lovely time to get back on her feet. The girls had then blasted the Red Saiaku with a Happiness Big Bang, purifying and eliminating it.

"So, it's just like Mirage told us" Kuro said once Megumi told her what had happened. "There's another threat that's been pullin' the strings all along. But just who _is_ this guy?"

- _Break_ -

A couple of days later, the Cure Quartet and Seiji first helped Yuuko's restaurant handle a busy sale day, and then went out to shop for gifts for the others. As night fell, in the town square Megumi & Seiji had a quiet little exchange of gifts, reaffirming how much they'd helped each other… and then the moment was violently ruined by the appearance of another Red Saiaku.

Seiji stayed back as Megumi transformed and attacked, quickly joined by the other three Cures and soon after by Kuro wielding a Trace of the 'Blast Sword' Shibuki, while Blue, Mirage, & the fairy trio arrived to watch from the sidelines. They bashed and slashed and blasted the monster, but it didn't seem to be taking much damage (it shrugged off a hit from Shibuki to the _face_ ), and its counter-strikes sent them reeling, leaving the girls splayed out atop the ruins of a foot-bridge it had smashed them down into.

Then, however, the Cure quartet activated their Innocent Forms, and the tables quickly turned. Stronger, faster, and tougher in their advanced forms, they proceeded to run circles around the Red Saiaku, hammering it with an unceasing barrage of blows that had it staggering. In very little time they beat it down enough to finish it off, using Innocent Purification to destroy the dark creature, then shifting to their normal Cure forms and hurrying down to Blue & Mirage.

"Well done, girls" Blue told them. "Even these new, stronger Saiaku can't keep up with how much you've all grown."

Suddenly, a man's deep voice chuckling ran out. " _Impressive, children,_ " it echoed, " _but you haven't seen anything yet…_ "

"That voice…" Mirage hugged herself. "That's Deep Mirror – the one who was controlling me!"

"It sounds like the voice we heard at the waterfront" Cure Lovely added. "Right, Seiji? …Seiji?"

She turned and looked around, but Seiji was nowhere in sight. Then, she spotted something on the ground, running over to it: the scarf she'd made for him.

'W-What? …Where…?

Then, a man appeared atop the footbridge, glaring down at the group. He was tall, lean-muscled, clad in a red & black outfit with a dull-purple cape, and had blood-red hair. Upon seeing him, Blue scowled.

"So it _was_ you… Red!"

"Who is this?" Cure Honey asked.

"Red is like me: a World's deity."

"Eh?!" Cure Princess was taken aback. "Our enemy is a god?!"

The other Cures tensed up, while Kuro summoned her 'Divewing' Keyblade; seeing the Light weapon, Red sneered.

"It's been a while, Blue" Red said. "To celebrate our reunion, I will bring you the greatest of misfortune. I've come to finally make you realize just how illusory and meaningless 'love' and 'happiness' are."

"You're still going on about that?" the Earth's guardian frowned.

"Rather than tell you… perhaps I'll _show_ you instead."

Red snapped his fingers, and a dark-red portal appeared on the ground in front of the group. A lone figure emerged from it, identity initially obscured by the Darkness energy but then becoming clearer. As the figure clad in red & black light armor stood, eyes glowing red, the whole group recoiled in shock, with Cure Lovely going pale.

"S… Sei…ji…?"

"What… What have you done?!" Cure Princess shouted.

"I gave this boy one of my Hatred Crystals" Red replied. "Your 'love' is no match for the strength of my hatred, and now my new knight will show you that."

"Seiji… Seiji, wake up!" Cure Lovely pleaded.

"It's useless…" Red said, as Corrupted-Seiji glared hatefully at Lovely. "Your voice can't reach him now."

"The crystal!" Blue suddenly called to the girls. "That crystal came from Red's Heart, and it's controlling Seiji's!"

"Then… All we have to do is break it!" Cure Fortune replied. "Let's go!"

Corrupted-Seiji fired a barrage of deep-red Darkness blasts, and as the girls scattered Cure Princess went on the attack first, unleashing a barrage of blows that Corrupted-Seiji nonetheless managed to block all of, not even showing any strain in doing so. He batted her away, and then leapt to the side to dodge a flying kick from Cure Fortune, her heel barely missing the crystal on his chest as he slid out of the way and then grabbed her leg, flinging her into the support pillar of the footbridge. As Cure Honey moved to check on Fortune, Lovely came in with a barrage of strikes aimed at Corrupted-Seiji's chest crystal, only for him to block or dodge every one. He then then grabbed her by the throat with one hand and formed a sharp 'blade' of dark-red magic over his other hand, pulling back for a deadly thrust. Kuro came to the rescue, smacking Corrupted-Seiji's arm aside and giving Cure Lovely the chance to break free and get back. The young Tracer wielded her Keyblade in one hand and conjured a copy of Sasuke's _chokutō_ in the other, clashing against her Darkness-controller friend's dark-mana arm blade. Finally, he caught the Keyblade only to cry out as Kuro channeled _Chidori Nagashi_ through it, stunning him and giving her the opening to hit the 'Hate Crystal' with a mighty kick that shoved Corrupted-Seiji back. Unfortunately, though, the crystal didn't break.

The girls pressed their attack, hammering Corrupted-Seiji with flying tackles capped off by a magic-supercharged punch from Cure Lovely that crashed against a quick-formed barrier protecting his chest-crystal. She pushed hard, the barrier beginning to fail… and then the crystal's red glow brightened, and with a roar he blasted her back. The others caught her, but they had no time to avoid the dark blast he fired that engulfed them in a significantly-powerful explosion. When the dust faded, the girls were barely on their feet, as Red's laughter rang out.

"As I thought," he said, "your 'love' is no match for the power of my hatred!"

"Seiji…" Cure Lovely staggered to her feet. "Snap out of it! It's _me_! We're your friends! How can you let this guy control you?"

"…It's all thanks to _you_ , Aino Megumi" Red replied with a smirk. "You have always relied upon him, always been guided and protected by him… and yet you never took his true feelings into account, the ones he never spoke aloud because he felt that he 'couldn't'… This whole time, Seiji-kun was in love with you."

Cure Lovely gasped.

"But, you never noticed, you never treated him as anything more than a casual friend, you never gave him the chance to express his true feelings… and you flirted with and threw yourself at Blue, talking about him and such, right in front of Seiji, oblivious to the pain you were causing him – the heartache and frustration and resentment growing in his Heart. It was a simple matter for me to amplify those feelings into _Hate_." He bowed mockingly to the girl. " _Thank_ you, Cure Lovely, for preparing for me the most promising knight I have ever had!"

As Red laughed, Cure Lovely fell to her knees, shock and despair washing over her. Seiji was in love with her, and she never knew, and in her ignorance of his feelings she'd hurt him so badly… Glaring down at the girls with hateful fury, Corrupted-Seiji charged up another, even larger Darkness blast. As he fired it, though, Blue and Kuro moved together in front of the Cures, combining his 'Divine Shield' with her _Rho Aias_. The compound high-power defense managed to partially protect the group, keeping them from being killed or knocked out of their transformations, but it still did a number on them, leaving them splayed out and wounded. Between this utter defeat and the realization of what her actions had led to, Cure Lovely was emotionally devastated, barely moving.

"Now," Red announced, "to bring about the ultimate despair, and destroy all hints of 'love' on this world!"

He held his hand high, dark power gathering around him, and then shot a beam of Darkness upward. The clouds parted, and everyone was horrified to see a massive red planet now drawing near… and from it emerged _hundreds_ of Red Saiaku, being warped down all over Earth.

"Savor your loss and despair while you can" Red proclaimed. "When that red world hits, it will _shatter_ this wretched planet! You, Blue, will learn true despair! …Come, my knight; let us go to a suitable place from which to watch the end of this world."

Red and Corrupted-Seiji vanished, and the cold night's silence was broken by Cure Lovely's sobs. …And then by something considerably louder, as two Red Saiaku dropped down into the courtyard. One of them rushed at Cures Honey & Lovely, pushing them back, out of the courtyard and amongst the surrounding buildings; the other went for Cures Lovely & Princess and Kuro, smashing its huge fist into Cure Princess and knocking her back. Kuro leapt at it, striking at its head with her Keyblade, but the red monster roared and swatted her down to the ground. It then prepared to stomp down on Cure Lovely…

A lavender-hued blast of energy slammed into the top of the Red Saiaku's head, stunning it. A second later, Cure Tender streaked in like a comet, a supercharged kick launching the beast back.

"Why are you giving up?!" she shouted at Lovely. "Does Sagara-kun mean so little to you that you would give up on saving him and stopping Red this easily?! You girls taught me what you can accomplish working together! You saved Phantom and Mirage from the Darkness that had engulfed them! Get up, Megumi! We can still turn this around, stop Red and save your little boyfriend! _Get up!-!_ "

Tender was forced to focus her attention on the Red Saiaku before she could see if her words had any effect. A Razor Leaf from Kuro's Dartrix bounced off the monster's sunglasses, not managing to hurt it but distracting it while a Night Slash from Sneasel aimed at its throat, followed by a Strike Raid to the temple from Kuro's Keyblade. The Red Saiaku roared with fury, trying to swat them all away… and then Cure Lovely's punch, fueled by righteous fury, sent it tumbling end over end across the courtyard. The beast tried to right itself, but a 'Princess Machinegun' barrage hammered it back down, stunning it. Finally, the three Cures combined their powers, and let the energies fly:

" _Starburst Miracle Power Shoot!-!_ "

The triple-combined attack engulfed the Red Saiaku, annihilating it; elsewhere in the block, the other Red Saiaku fell to a 'Sparkling Stardust Attack'. As the dust faded, Cure Tender turned to Lovely, Princess, Kuro, & Blue.

"We have another problem," she said, "a serious one. Red's not our only issue; not long after I arrived in America, I was confronted by Saïx of the Seekers of Darkness; Xehanort's people were _here_!"

The heroes gasped; even with everything else going on, the DDF's current prime enemy had made his presence known here, too?

"He told me of how the Seekers were setting up a barrier around this region to specifically keep _me_ out, a barrier that only recently finally came down. It was to keep from interfering with… with…"

"What have they done, Maria?" Blue asked.

"They… Xehanort's Heartless sensed… sensed Iona's feelings of upsetness over me leaving, of resentment and loneliness and perceived betrayal, and so he… he planted a 'Seed of Darkness' into my baby sister's Heart! He said it would amplify those dark feelings regarding me, to turn them into _hatred_! He said that once 'the right trigger' was met, she would-"

There were two sets of footsteps as Cures Honey and Fortune flew in and set down. Everyone froze as Fortune laid eyes on Tender, her eyes widening and pupils shrinking into pinpricks, her irises turning golden in color. Then…

' _Maria sister abandoned betrayed Resent Anger Betrayer Left Behind Never Respect Resentment HATE Ungrateful BITCH ABANDONED ME BETRAYED ME RAGE_ _ **HATE**_ _kill her KILL_ _ **HATE RAGE RIP TEAR SHRED KILL DISEMBOWL INCINERATE SHATTER**_ _ **KILL**_ _ **HATE HATE**_ _ **HATE**_ '

Iona's voice came out in a terrifying, feral scream of unholy raging fury as a pitch-black aura of Darkness _exploded_ around her, blowing Cure Honey away. The white parts of her outfit turned black, the light-purple parts becoming a much darker, duller purple with red streaks, her hair similarly darkening while spiking out. As she looked up, her face was twisted into a terrifying expression of bestial rage, canine teeth slightly elongated and sharpened, her irises golden. A terrible hot wind blew out from her, jet-black aura seething around her like a roaring flame.

"N… No…" Cure Lovely whimpered in mixed despair and fear. "First Seiji… Now Iona-chan, too…?"

Princess, Honey, Kuro, and the fairies were shocked and horrified, and Blue even more-so; Xehanort had appeared and corrupted one of the girls he was supposed to guide and protect, right under his nose…

But nobody was hit as hard by this development as Cure Tender. She trembled, tears in her eyes, as her worst fears were realized; she'd failed to save her little sister, and now… now, Iona was engulfed in Darkness, looking at her with a truly horrible look of hatred and fury, radiating Killing Intent and Hate that stabbed at Maria's heart…

"I… Iona, please!" Marie pleaded. "I'm sorry! I never meant t-"

The corrupted Fortune 'flickered', and Tender barely reacted in time to catch the punch aimed at her skull; the transferred force cratered the ground beneath her feet, the shockwave blowing everyone else away from her. Now, her vision was filled with Fortune's terrible expression of hate and rage. Kuro and Cure Princess made to come in from the sides, but then the corrupted PreCure roared out, and a pulse of Dark power blew everyone but Cure Tender away. Ice rapidly formed all over the courtyard and surroundings, tainted purplish by the Dark magic woven into it; it also formed a barrier along the outside, keeping the other heroes from interfering, only able to helplessly watch. With effort, Cure Tender threw Corrupted Fortune back, the younger girl forming her outfit's wings – now bat-like, black with glowing purple membranes – and setting down atop an ice spire, glaring down at her sister.

(BATTLE MUSIC: _Metroid Prime 3_ – Rundas Battle)

Slowly floating up, Corrupted Fortune glared down at Cure Tender with utter contempt and fury, as a cold and bitter wind blew out from her, multiple large & thick spears of Ice-wreathed Darkness formed around her. She swept her hands forward, and they all shot down at Tender, who formed her outfit's wings and shot upward to dodge. Dark Fortune flew at her, hammering Tender's guard with a ferocious barrage of blows, pushing her back. She managed to get around Cure Tender's defense and strike a Darkness-charged blow to the older girl's gut that doubled her over and sent her flying, following with a cluster of dark energy blasts. Cure Tender managed to regain control of her flight and swat the blasts away, then dashed in to go on the attack.

They met in the middle with a clash like thunder, blows being exchanged at a blistering pace. Cure Tender wrapped her arms tight around Corrupted Fortune, hoping to try and restrain her and calm her down, only to cry out as the younger girl's teeth sank into her shoulder, forcing her to let go and leaving her vulnerable to a stunning headbutt and a point-blank energy blast that blew her back. Corrupted Fortune then fired a large star-shaped blast of dark-purple energy, and Cure Tender countered with a lavender-hued star-blast of her own; the two blasts' collision and explosion forced the onlookers to brace themselves and shield their eyes.

"Iona!" Cure Tender cried out. "Please, listen to me! I wasn't trying to abandon you! I just wanted t-"

Two huge chunks of Darkness-enriched ice floated up, and as Corrupted Fortune threw her arms forward they shattered into a massive barrage of razor-sharp icicle spears. Cure Tender quickly formed a star-shaped shield, but it crumpled and shattered before the barrage was done, and she cried out as the remaining icicles crashed into her, tearing and slashing at her outfit and getting through her magical defenses enough to draw blood here & there.

As Cure Tender looked up the moment it was safe to, she saw that Fortune's corruption had advanced; the whites of the girl's eyes had turned black, and shadowy claws had formed over her hands. With jet-black fiery aura surging around her, Corrupted Fortune flashed forward, crashing into Cure Tender before she could react and slamming her into the ice wall that formed the battleground's barrier/edge. Snarling, she grabbed the back of Cure Tender's head with her shadowy claw, and then her evil wings glowed with power as she took off, flying at high speed along the inner edge of the ice-wall… while continuously shoving and grinding Tender's face into it, a trench being carved in the dark ice. After going nearly halfway around the area, she then flung Cure Tender into the air, grabbed hold of her leg, and flew down and slammed Tender into the ground with terrific force.

Cure Tender groaned weakly as she got to her hands & knees, hurting all over, her ears ringing a little. She then had to abruptly roll to the side to dodge a spearing kick aimed at where her head had just been, and quick-fired a blast of magic that Corrupted Tender caught and casually crushed in her shadow-clawed fist. Looking at the hate and fury on the younger girl's face, feeling the Killing Intent from her baby sister, Cure Tender fought back a sob; the whole time this fight had been going, it felt like her heart was continuously breaking. This was her fault…

'If I had just explained to her… how I needed to go and help the world's other Cures, and how I felt she and her friends were strong enough that they didn't need my help like the other Cure teams across the world did… I trusted that she'd understand, but… I was wrong… Losing me to Phantom hurt her much more than I thought; those wounds hadn't healed, and I ended up making them worse… And now… n-now I'm going to lose her…'

Corrupted Fortune charged, and Cure Tender gave ground in a desperate defense, teeth gritted as she tried to weather the hurricane of strikes thrown her way.

'Iona… I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to hurt you… I want to see you smile again… I want my baby sister back! I… I can't let it end like this! I can't lose you! I don't know what to do, but I have to do _something_! Even if it costs me my life, I have to save you!-!'

Then, the Shining Make Dresser lit up. Brilliant white light began to shine from the heart-shaped brooch in the center of Cure Tender's chest. A set of PreCards emerged from it, and guided by instinct she took hold of them and slotted them into her PreChange Mirror. Tender was enveloped in sparkling light, as makeup appeared on her face, her outfit changed to gleaming white with pastel-rainbow shading, and the wings from her lower back became a big, shining bow.

" _Innocent Form!_ "

Corrupted Fortune was shoved back, shielding her face from the Light. The other Happiness Charge Cures, trapped behind the ice wall, looked on in amazement as Innocent Tender hung in the air, shining with beautiful light, a determined look on her face.

"Iona… I _know_ it's not too late. I'm going to break through that Darkness and rage, and convey my feelings to you, my sister!"

Snarling, Corrupted Fortune rushed in at Tender with a Darkness-charged punch, but the Innocent Form PreCure raised her hand and caught the attack, stopping it cold. Innocent Tender then flipped up over Corrupted Fortune and struck her with a falling kick that slammed her down into the ground below, cratering the frozen pavement. Corrupted Fortune groaned as she got back up, and then swung her arms to release a slicing wave of Darkness up at Innocent Tender. The older girl dove down, nimbly dodging around the incoming attack, and their fists met with a clash that shattered the ice for several meters around.

Corrupted Fortune roared in fury, her black aura surging like an inferno, the dark ice around her beginning to shatter and melt from the heat of her rage. She fired a massive roiling wave/beam of Darkness at Innocent Tender, who dove right into and through the blast, approaching the stunned corrupted girl and appearing right in front of her, eyes shining with power that then released:

"PreCure: Tender Sparkling Starlight!"

Motes of magic like twinkling stars formed all around the two combatants, and then rushed in at Corrupted Fortune, forming into a star-&-crescent-shaped binding mass of Light magic that began to erode at her Darkness. Then, she was caught between two brightly-glowing masses of star-shaped Light above and below, which were then connected by a pillar of glowing light – a 'Tender Rising Starburst', supercharged with Innocent Form's purifying power. The light became blindingly beautiful as it completely engulfed Fortune, burning the Darkness away; it shone outward as well, and the Darkness-enriched ice melted and evaporated, vanishing and returning the courtyard to normal.

As the light faded, the purified Cure Fortune fell forward into her waiting sister's arms, the two of them going down to their knees. Tender held Fortune close, tears in her eyes.

"…Why did you leave me?" Fortune whimpered softly.

"In the Cross-Mirror Room," Tender replied, "I saw how other Pretty Cures around the world were struggling, being overpowered and outmaneuvered by the Phantom Empire's forces. They needed my help; you girls were strong enough to handle things around here without my assistance, but those other Cures weren't. I thought you would understand that. But… I didn't know how badly what had happened to me had hurt you, how those wounds in your Heart were still too raw to handle me leaving so soon… I'm so sorry, Iona."

"… _Onée-chan_ …" the younger girl sniffled and held her sister tighter.

Suddenly, the earth gave a low tremor; not enough to damage anything, but enough to remind everyone that the world was still in grave peril. As everyone else came down amongst the sisters, they all looked up at the slowly-approaching red world high in the sky.

"We probably don't have much time" Cure Lovely said. "…Iona-chan's been saved from the Darkness; now we've just gotta save Seiji…"

"And stop Red" Kuro added. "Which I have a feeling won't be easy, even by our standards; he's a divine entity, after all."

"He doesn't understand the power that love can bring" Cure Princess replied. "That's his weakness, and it's one that's gonna do him in!"

Lovely nodded. "Let's go!"

The Happiness Charge Quartet assumed their Innocent Forms, and Cure Tender joined them as they flew up and away; Innocent Princess carried Ribbon, Innocent Fortune held Glasan, and Innocent Tender gave Kuro a lift. Left behind, Blue, Mirage, & PhanPhan made ready to coordinate the world's Cures in fighting off the Red Saiaku incursion.

The girls' magic protected them as they flew up through space, crossing the area between Earth and the incoming red planet. As they passed the halfway mark, however, Corrupted-Seiji appeared in their path, unleashing a tight cluster of red & black Darkness blasts that forced the girls to scatter. Princess flew 'underneath' him and released a 'Machinegun Bomber' barrage, explosions going off all around him and engulfing him in a field of bluish smoke. Looking around, trying to detect his 'enemies', Corrupted-Seiji was nearly blindsided by Innocent Fortune, who engaged him in a close-in brawl.

"I remember the first time you came to my family's dojo" she said to him. "You said you wanted to become stronger, with such a serious look on your face… It was so you could better protect Megumi, wasn't it?"

Seiji startled for a moment, but then the Hate Crystal on his chest flashed red along with his eyes, and he blasted her away with a shockwave of dark power. He readied a blast of energy, only for a Honey Ribbon Spiral to snake in and grab his wrist. He gave a tug, and the Honey Baton came in without a Cure at the other end. Then, another shining gold ribbon flew in, aimed at the crystal on his chest, and he flash-stepped to dodge it. It kept coming after him, chasing him around… and then the net of golden ribbons abruptly contracted, binding him from all directions. Furthermore, a 'Windy Wink' barrage of green petal-like magic particles joined in, catching him in a double-bind as Innocent Princess & Honey appeared. Fortune & Tender joined in soon after, adding an Emerald Illusion and Sparkling Starlight to the mix.

Despite their attempts to break through to him, though, Corrupted-Seiji released an expanding wave of Dark power that strained against the compound 'prison', soon shattering it and freeing him. …And then the blue smoke was blown away, to reveal Innocent Lovely overhead with an _enormous_ pink fist made of magical power. She aimed and fired, the world's largest rocket punch shooting down and slamming into Corrupted-Seiji's barrier. The unstoppable force pushed against the immovable object, until finally they both shattered, and Lovely came right in her attack's wake, a high-speed flying punch crashing into Corrupted-Seiji's chestpiece and shoving him back. Their path carried them over to the red planet, breaking through the atmosphere and crashing down right at the foot of an ancient ruin. And seated atop a makeshift throne on that ruin…

"Welcome to my home, Cure Lovely" Red said, slouching in his seat with his cheek rested on his fist. "Pardon the mess; it's been a few centuries since I last had a chance to clean up around here. Still… All you've been through to get here, all your struggles… they were for _nothing_. My hate will reign supreme and devour your saccharine little planet. Blue will know my despair and hate, and you? You will know _oblivion_."

Corrupted-Seiji stood back up, glaring at Cure Lovely, who had reverted from her Innocent Form. The diamond-shaped red crystal on his chest glowed along with his eyes.

"That crystal, forged by a god such as me, cannot be destroyed; the only way out of this is for you to kill the boy, or be killed by him. Either way, you will drown in despair."

"…Back at the plaza…" Lovely said. "What you told me… you may have been right. That's twice I've touched that crystal, and both times I saw… I… I haven't been paying attention to Seiji's feelings. I've hurt him by not recognizing what was in his Heart. But now…" She took a stance, a pink aura springing up around her. "We're finally alone, so he & I can finally have a proper talk! Seiji! If we can't speak with words, let's speak through our fists! I accept your feelings, and I'm going to make sure you get to feel mine!"

Corrupted-Seiji roared and charged, a black aura shimmering around him, and the pink-auraed Cure Lovely moved to meet him, fists clashing to release a massive shockwave. The two of them took to the air, wreathed in energy as they zipped about like red and pink comets, clashing again and again.

'You were always there for me… Always helping me, protecting me, being by my side… Knowing Blue didn't choose me was painful, but losing _you_ like this made it feel like my heart was tearing in half! Everything we've been through together… All the moments we've shared… Just thinking of them fills me with so much happiness and warmth… and the thought of not being able to have any more of them is more painful than I ever imagined! I want to be with you again…'

The Darkness-corrupted youth fired a beam/wave of dark power at Cure Lovely, who shrouded herself in Light and dove straight through it, shooting towards him.

'Please… Come back to me! Seiji!'

He braced for an attack… but instead she hugged him, holding him as they both hovered high in the air. As he froze, she took his head in her hands, looking at him with tears in her eyes, and then kissed him. A corona of shining pink light enveloped them both, as down below Red stared in disbelieving shock and anger, sensing his Hate Crystal's hold weakening dramatically. Cures Princess, Honey, & Fortune flew down from the reddish clouds, still in Innocent Forms, their bodies glowing with their respective colors.

'PreCure…' Cure Lovely's voice rang out in a gentle whisper, as she transformed as well, holding Seiji tighter. 'Innocent Purification…'

There was a blinding blast of multicolored light, brightening the dreary dead landscape below for several seconds. When it faded, four lights floated down to the ground, bursting to reveal the Happiness Charge Cures… and Seiji, his eyes back to their normal brown and the 'Hate Crystal' gone, his hand held in Cure Lovely's. Innocent-Form Tender and Kuro floated down soon after, joining the group.

"This… This is impossible!" Red stepped back. "How can mere love overcome my boundless hatred?!"

" _Love is the one thing that can overcome and defeat hate_ " Blue's voice rang out as his projected image appeared. " _Megumi's love has created a miracle._ "

"This can't be… Love only brings suffering!"

" _It can, if things go wrong. But it can also bring that suffering to an end. Love saves souls, brightens the darkness, and gives strength and warmth…_ "

"Love… is _invincible_ " Cure Lovely proclaimed. "Everyone who has a heart and soul gains strength from love – the love of close friends, family, or…" She glanced sideways at Seiji, her cheeks going pink. "And I can tell: even you, Red, still have love in your Heart, locked away deep inside…"

In response, a seething red aura sprang up around Red, as the planet began to quake. "Love… is a transient illusion that brings only pain…" he snarled. "I will eliminate your courage, your kindness, your fortune, your 'love', when I tear your beating hearts from your chests, and shatter your precious little blue planet into a thousand pieces!"

Red flash-stepped down amongst the heroines, firing energy blasts at Cures Honey & Tender and coming at Cure Princess with a flying kick. Princess ducked under his kick and went to grab his leg, only for Red to abruptly spin and bring the other foot down on her head, hammering her into the dirt. Kuro moved in before he could follow through, dual-wielding her Divewing Keyblade and a 'Trace' of Orochimaru's _Kusanagi no Tsurugi_ , forcing Red to dodge and backstep to avoid her swings and thrusts; even he couldn't ignore a Keyblade of Light coming at him. After dancing around her attacks for a bit, he got around her guard and hit her with a palm-thrust to the chest that knocked her away, only for Cures Fortune & Lovely to press the attack next.

Growling, Red took to the air, firing a cluster of Darkness blasts down at the girls, but Cure Honey intercepted with a barrier to protect Lovely & Fortune, and then all the girls – including Kuro using a pair of wings Ribbon & Glasan conjured for her – took off after him. They all zipped through the sky, trading blows & blasts, Red managing to keep pace with all six of his foes at once, though they in turn were holding strong and keeping the fight even. Every time he'd be about to deal a decisive blow against one of them, two more would come to the rescue, but he managed to defend against or avoid every attempt they made to land any especially powerful hits on him.

Soon, though, the girls rallied, and their attacks started getting through, knocking Red around. A Keyblade slash knocked him into a crescent-shaped magic blast, which in turn left him open to a barrage of exploding blue blasts from above that pushed him down to the ground. Then, the four HC Cures dove down at him while wreathed in light, a full-force Innocent Purification engulfing Red in a massive dome of multicolored lights. The sextet set down near the outer edge, waiting for the cleansing magic to finish its work.

"Is that… all you girls have got…?"

The girls got a nasty shock as Red's silhouette appeared striding through the light toward them, straining a little but resisting the powerful purifying magic.

"Courage cannot overcome weakness," he proclaimed, "hope can be destroyed, kindness is ignored, and love _dies_! But hatred… _is eternal!_ "

His dark aura flared, blowing away the remnants of Light magic around him, and then he flash-stepped forward, reappearing right in front of Innocent Honey, a dark blast already charged. She was blasted back into a boulder amongst the rubble nearly 20 meters away, her Innocent Form coming undone. Everyone else moved to attack, but he released a pulse of power that knocked them all back, stunning them, and then he grabbed Innocent Tender by the leg and threw her at Innocent Fortune, followed by flying in above them and slamming them down into the earth with a sledgehammer-blow of force, canceling their Innocent Forms as well. Innocent Princess and Kuro came at him together, but he simply blasted them both, blowing the former out of her advanced form. Finally, he slammed his palms to the ground, and a blast of Dark power burst up from beneath Cure Lovely's feet, engulfing her and knocking her out of Innocent Form as well.

"Fall into despair… _Eternal Gauge_!"

Red released torrents of red & black 'lightning' at the girls, and Princess, Honey, Fortune, & Tender were engulfed and trapped in Mirror Coffins. Seiji and the fairy pair dove into the path of the one aimed at Lovely, giving themselves up to save her. Kuro cast _Rho Aias_ through her Keyblade, creating a six-petaled defense, and it proved just enough to protect her until the attack stopped, but then she fell to her knees, panting and trembling, exhausted after putting most of the mana she had left into that. Cure Lovely looked around, frantic horror on her face.

"How pointless," Red said as he looked at the Mirror Coffin holding Ribbon, Glasan, and Seiji, "sacrificing themselves like that. They've only delayed the inevitable."

"…An act of love… is _never_ pointless" Cure Lovely stood strong.

Red spat. "Love? Love is _powerless_. It couldn't protect your friends… and it couldn't save this planet! This world, _my_ world, was once full of life, people and creatures, love and prosperity… but then, it became _this_!" He swept his arm out over the barren, silent wasteland. "I loved this planet and its life, but I couldn't do a thing to protect it! The people of this world suffered and died, all living things were lost to a brutal, untimely extinction, and the world I was supposed to guard became a land of the dead, an endless desert of ash and bones! And when this world died, so too did my love, my Heart. Then, I saw how Blue's little world, Earth, is still so clean and blue and full of life! How _dare_ my softhearted little brother get to enjoy a world of love & life, while I lose everything and reign over a world of despair and death?! But soon, that will end. This dead planet of mine will crash into your Earth; I will die with it, and my last act will erase all hope and life from Blue's world, plunging him into the same despair and rage that I have felt for far too long!

"Now, Cure Lovely… Hate me! _Loathe_ me! _Despise me_! And go to your grave knowing that the wrath of a vengeful god brought death and annihilation to your precious little planet, and there wasn't a single thing you could do to stop it!"

"…You're wrong. You've been suffering, in _agony_ , all by yourself for so, _so_ long… But now I know, without a doubt, that there is still love locked deep in your heart! The memories of this world's life and love are engraved into your heart, but they're clouded by the pain you've let consume you… I want… to return to you your smile, to free the love you've shut away deep inside, and remind you of who you truly are!"

Suddenly, a torrent of countless sparkling motes of light, in all different colors, flowed 'down' from Earth and enveloped the area. In a matter of seconds, the ground came to life and was covered with grass and flowers.

"What… is this?" Red looked around in shock. "What's with this light?"

"They're the hopes and prayers of all our allies down on Earth. Each person's love may not be much by itself… but when they join together, reinforce each other, those loves can become something incredible, something unstoppable! I'm going to use this power they've given me to save our world, everyone's love, and your smile!"

The Light formed into three PreCards, which Cure Lovely slotted into her PreChange Mirror. She was enveloped in sparkling light, as she underwent a new transformation: Her hair, longer and lighter, hung free, while her accessory in it became a white bow; her vest turned white and became more of a longcoat with ruffled sleeves, and her skirt became paler in color; her arm-warmers lengthened, with larger ends, and her boots gained small golden wings on the back; lastly, a sort of billowing white waist-cape was worn over her skirt and legs.

"Eternal love illuminating the world! _Forever Lovely!-!_ "

Light shone from her brooch, freeing the trapped Cures, Seiji, & the fairies, and healing & rejuvenating Kuro.

"Forever… Lovely?" Red murmured, sounding as if the words tasted disgusting. "There's nothing 'forever' about love!"

"You're lying" she replied. "I can see the love you still hold for what your world once was, the people who lived on it."

"Shut _up_!" he roared as a dark-red aura surged around him. "I'll extinguish that loathsome 'love' of yours, once and for all!"

He charged at her, and she rushed to meet him. The two of them engaged in a hectic, fast-paced duel, blows being exchanged, dodged and blocked, each one releasing a shockwave of cast-off power. Before long they took to the air, clashing together over and over while zipping through the sky, steadily going higher and higher. Soon, they were in space between the two planets, Forever Lovely deliberately sticking mostly to defense, easily dodging or deflecting everything Red through at her while calmly trying to talk him down.

"It doesn't matter what you say or how hard you fight!" he shouted. "Soon my empty planet will be destroyed, and I with it! Earth will die from my final act!"

"Are you really okay with that?!"

"It doesn't matter if I am or not! That is our fate! No matter how precious something is, everything eventually dies! Happiness lasts only an instant, to be replaced by loss and death! You, me, your friends, humanity, planets, stars, it doesn't matter; everything dies after far too little time! I'm just speeding things along!"

"That's why you're supposed to treasure all those precious things while they're still there! Protect them, guide them, and when they eventually go they'll give rise to another generation of those beautiful things!"

"Then _why didn't that happen for_ _ **my**_ _planet?!_ There was no continuation, no shining future! Everything died cold, alone, and afraid! My world died in despair!"

"No, it _didn't_! I can sense it! Your world _still has life_! It's small, scattered, few in number, hidden deep away, but there are things that still call your planet home! It's not too late; your world can still be saved, can start anew! And if you're convinced that it's impossible, that you can't find your lost happiness and love, then I'll _prove you wrong!_ _PreCure!_ "

An enormous mass of pink and golden light gathered around her, the blinding light leaving Red frozen in shock and awe.

" _Forever! Happiness! Shower!-!_ "

As cascading wave of sparkling golden lights erupted out from her in all directions, washing over both planets and completely engulfing Red. On Earth, people trapped in Mirror-Coffins were all freed, while Choiaku & Saiaku were purified en masse. The red glow left Red's eyes, which were widened in shock and clarity, as the Darkness and pain-driven rage which had engulfed and strangled his Heart for so long were burned away, purified. The cleansed deity fell back down to his world, his powers protecting him from the fall and landing.

Forever Lovely flew back down, and was immediately tackled-hugged by Cure Princess, the others coming up in her wake. Kuro pointed her Keyblade at Red, but then lowered it as she sensed how thoroughly he'd been purified.

"Everything dies and fades away…" he said with sorrow. "What's the use of watching over a world when random chance can reduce it to _this_?"

He looked out in the distance, at the dead rocks and ruins.

"Because your world can still come back to looking like _this_ " Kuro swept her arms over the magically-terraformed immediate area – greenery and flowers and life nearly a kilometer in every direction. "Not much compared to an entire planet, but I'd call this a good start. And I know some people who can help it along." She walked up to Red with a grin. "News flash, buddy; the Dimensional Defense Force, the people I came here to represent and recruit these girls for, is space-faring. They've got terraforming tech. It'll probably take about 35, maybe 50 years, but this place… Its atmosphere's still breathable, soil chemistry's good considering the factors involved, even some hints of the last civilization's infrastructure to work off of still here & there… Yeah, they can bring this world back to life. It won't be super-quick, but it's totally doable."

"I can understand your pain, older brother," Blue said as he stepped through a mirror-portal, "but because you let that pain consume you, you lost sight of the future, and couldn't see that you still had a chance to bring life back to this world."

"I was lost in my own sadness and rage…" Red lamented. "I couldn't see the Light anymore… I never thought this world could ever be green and full of life again…"

"You had no-one with you here to support you," Forever Lovely said, "no-one to be with you during the dark and lonely times, to keep you from going mad in your loneliness and grief…"

"We'll see this world rebuilt _together_ , brother" Blue told him. "Let us head back and discuss things properly."

"By now this world's time should be 'caught up' with when I left," Kuro said, "so lemme call the UNSC and the PLF, see if they're willing and able to help with terraforming. Then, it'll be time for you girls to come with me and meet the rest of us."

"Let's go home, everyone," Cure Honey said, "and I'll fix us all up something – a victory feast!"

Her comrades cheered, wholeheartedly in support of rest and food after such an eventful day.

 **-** ** _CHAPTER END_** **-**

And that's it for part two of this fic. Part 3, covering _Go Princess PreCure_ , will be a while; the DDF representative will show up right after the events of Episode 23, when (according to Wikipedia) Cure Scarlet joins the team, so I have 23 episodes to watch through before I can even start work on the next chapter.

Also, minor "what could've been" tidbit; I almost decided to have Red whip out (this universe's) Ea during the final battle, maybe have it so _he_ was the god who forged this 'forged by the gods' weapon (at least in this timeline), but in the end decided not to.


	11. Go Princess 1

**PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** ** _CHAPTER START_** **-**

 **Realm PC-9**

Haruno Haruka, also known to a select few as 'Cure Flora', was in a pretty good mood today. After some initial 'difficulties', Towa was finally properly settling in at Noble Academy, relearning how to enjoy life, and ready to do whatever it took fighting alongside the girls against the forces of DysDark.

It seemed that the enemy leader, the dark queen Dyspear, was out of commission for now after being hit by Cure Scarlet's Phoenix Blaze; she appeared to have appointed Lock as a temporary replacement until she recovered, giving the hooded boy an older form and greater power.

'Still,' Haruka thought, 'all we gotta do is find the last three Dress-Up Keys, and we'll be able to handle anything they throw at us!'

Suddenly, the ground shook, and Haruka could hear faint screams. Near-certain of what it was, she fingered the main Dress-Up Key in her pocket and took off running. She soon met up with Minami, Kirara, & Towa (and Puff & Aroma), and the four girls' suspicions were quickly confirmed as they rounded a corner to find a karate-themed Zetsuborg stomping around, overseen by Lock, who floated beside a 'Despair Cage' containing a member of the academy's martial-arts club. The monster noticed the four heroines, taking a stance, and they prepared to attack…

A bright-orange bolt of magical energy shot in from above, slamming into the side of the Zetsuborg's head, sending it stumbling and almost falling onto Lock, who hastily floated out of the way. Everyone on both sides looked around, and soon spotted a girl a few years older than the Cure Quartet perched atop a lamppost, clad in a red & purple outfit with gold lining, her long reddish-orange hair and her outfit's waist-cape fluttering slightly in the soft breeze, sky-blue eyes overlooking the impromptu battlefield.

"W… Who is that?" Cure Flora asked.

The girl turned down to look at the girls. "Are you the 'Princess Pretty Cures'?"

Cure Mermaid eyed the newcomer with suspicion. "We are. Who is asking?"

The older girl smiled. "A friend. I represent the Dimensional Defense Force, an alliance of people and civilizations from different Realms banded together to share tech, resources, & culture, and fight against dark forces who threaten innocent lives across the multiverse. We've even got three Realms' Pretty-Cure teams as members, along with other magical-girl teams."

"O… Other universes' PreCures…" Cure Scarlet breathed out, shocked.

"Recently, we detected four other universes with Cure teams in them, each of them embroiled in conflicts against the forces of Darkness; I've been sent here to help you girls. My name is Teana; pleased to meet you, Pretty Cures."

"Hey, who the hell do you think you are?" Lock interjected. "No matter. You're no Cure, so you won't stand a chance against a Zetsuborg!"

Teana smirked. "Girls? As a peace offering, let me take care of this one. Though, I don't have any purifying spells, so you'll have to finish it off." She cleared her throat, and then posed dramatically to mimic the pose she'd seen Cure Flora in the briefing she was given before coming here. "Villain who controls a dark cage, I'll be taking that captured dream back! Prepare for a thorough defeat!"

She leapt down off the lamppost and brought a heel-drop kick down on the Zetsuborg's head, causing the monster to faceplant with pavement-cracking force. Landing a handful of meters away, Teana conjured a mixed Crossfire Shot and Fire-type _Sagitta Magica_ barrage, firing it and charging in its wake. The Zetsuborg staggered as the barrage struck it, then growled and tried to karate-chop down at Teana as she got in close, only for the redhead to nimbly sidestep the blow and then hit the monster in the gut with a punch that hit with enough force to let out an echoing boom. The Zetsuborg doubled over, and Teana grabbed it by the arm and flipped it up & over, slamming it back-first into the ground.

The angry Zetsuborg made a spinning kick to right itself, forcing Teana to leap back. She landed in front of the Cures, and saw as the Zetsuborg made a ' _Hadōken_ '-like gesture, firing a large blast of dark power at her. Quickly, she drew Cross Mirage and shifted him to Longsword Mode; she swung with perfect timing, and the vibrant orange blade of superheated magical energy cleaved the incoming blast in two, deflecting the halves safely away. She then deactivated the energy blade and clipped Mirage to her belt, and wove a quick hand-seal sequence while breathing in:

" _Fūton: Shinkūha_!"

Teana swept her head to the side with a quick, wide motion, exhaling a blade of Wind chakra that raced through the air and slammed into the Zetsuborg, leaving a deep gash across its chest. As the monster reeled, Teana dashed in and leapt high over it, weaving more hand-seals and…

" _Katon: Gōkakyū_!"

The Cures were surprised to see their new ally breathe out a fireball bigger than she was, launching it down at the Zetsuborg from directly above. The Zetsuborg roared out as it was engulfed in chakra-conjured flames, shoved down to the ground. When the fires faded, the monster was on hands & knees, trying to push itself back up… and then Teana slammed a Rasengan down into its back, putting it down for the count. Hopping back from the fallen Zetsuborg, she gave the Cures a grin and a thumbs-up, and Cure Mermaid used Mermaid Ripple to finish off the battered monster, and then used her Dress-Up Key to free the person it had been made from.

"One complication after another…" Lock grumbled as he retreated through a keyhole-shaped portal.

"That was _cool_!" Cure Flora hurried up to Teana. "So, you're a heroine of justice from another universe?"

Teana chuckled softly at that description, rubbing the back of her head. "I guess, if you wanna call me that…"

"I'm Cure Flora! This is Cure Mermaid, Cure Twinkle, Cure Scarlet, and our fairy partners Puff & Aroma! Nice to meet you!"

"We should head back inside," Cure Twinkle said, "find someplace to explain things in detail to each other."

"Don't de-transform" Teana stopped Flora when she felt the Cure's energy start to change. "My transformation, as you can see, doesn't disguise my identity. If I'm going to be helping you girls, I have to be really careful about when I'm with you when you're not in your transformed states, or else other people will put two & two together and figure out who you are."

"A magical-girl transformation that doesn't disguise the heroine's identity?" Cure Flora said. "That's _weird_ …"

"Let's head back to Haruka & Yui's room" Mermaid suggested. "Yui-san isn't a Cure, but she's in the know regarding everything we're involved in."

- _Break_ -

Teana, the four Cures – now in civilian form -, Yui, Puff & Aroma, and the cat-like fairy known as Miss Shamour were all gathered in the dorm room together, where the locals had given Teana an explanation of events leading up to now. Unfortunately, something had gone wrong when Teana was temporo-spatially transferred here, and her copy of DDF 'footage' hadn't made the transition with her. Still, she did what she could to give them all a rundown about the DDF and many of its various member-states and notable individuals.

"Fighting alongside a team of princess-themed superheroines…" Teana mused. "This'll be one for the books, I'm sure."

Yui nodded shyly. "Knowing you're friends & allies with people who have such power, one of them actually being _royalty_ …"

"Master has royal heritage as well" Cross Mirage spoke up.

"Eh?" they all turned to look at Teana. "Did you… grow up in a castle, related to a noble or something?" Kirara asked.

"Um…" Teana looked a bit sheepish. "Actually… Now, this is something I only found out about my family tree less than a year ago, but… I know that the son or daughter of a King & Queen is called a Prince or Princess, but I'm wondering what the proper term is for the daughter of a Prince – Duchess or Lady or something?"

" _Non_ , my dear" Shamour spoke up. "The daughter of a crown-prince is also called…"

"A… A _Princess_ …" Haruka squeaked out. "Y… You're a Princess?!"

The others were similarly shocked; Puff had stars in her eyes, Aroma was too surprised to fly, Yui's jaw was hanging open, and Kirara, Minami, & Towa had matching looks of surprise on their faces. Teana blushed at the attention.

"I-I'm not really sure whether I can consider myself that; I mean, I've only known about my father's pedigree for a handful of months. And… I can't really be called 'Princess' without a kingdom."

"Was your kingdom conquered?" Towa asked.

"No. It was completely _destroyed_ – every subject killed, the castle leveled, the _planet_ the kingdom was based on blown to bits… Only two full-blooded members of our people survive today; the son of a special-ops team leader, and my father's younger brother. My father and mother were murdered when I was four, by an old enemy of my mother; my dad tried to protect her and was struck down for it, with mom being killed soon after."

Looks of shock and empathy now reigned; Towa placed a hand on Teana's shoulder.

"Master's mother had a similarly impressive bloodline" Cross Mirage chimed in. "She was the heiress of an old and powerful shinobi clan. In fact, that clan and their old rivals were the first clans of their Realm to put aside differences and forge the first Hidden Village, an act that other clans followed suit with that brought an end to that world's Warring States Era. Master is the great-granddaughter of the shinobi of her clan that co-founded that system, so she could be considered royalty of a sort through her maternal lineage as well."

"Father was set to inherit the throne," Teana picked up, "while mother was the heiress of our clan. But both of them got sucked up by dimensional rifts that spat them out on Midchilda, my homeworld; back on their worlds they were presumed lost, and their younger siblings inherited those positions instead…"

"Do you know what the kingdom your father came from was like?" Minami asked.

"Only secondhand; like I said, I only learned about it recently. There are some… unpleasant details, but suffice to say it was a kingdom of proud warriors – 'strength of body, heart, & will' was a major tenet for all people, not just the royal family. Hell, even their formal wear was practical armor, not the kinda things you'd see people in at balls & galas on an Earth."

"A warrior princess…" Kirara mused.

"Hey!" Haruka came forward, a big grin on her face. "Teana-san! Why don't you try becoming a Princess PreCure?"

"Eh? …Eh?! N-No, I couldn't; I'm not… the right kind of person for that."

"Hmm…" Shamour looked Teana over. "Strength, kindness, grace, and beauty… You definitely have all the hallmarks of our kind of Princess…"

"I'm… not exactly 'princess-y', though. My main weapons are guns and energy-longswords, not something like a bow or rapier or naginata; I'm into weapons and cars instead of ballet or flower-arranging or the like, and I have a motorcycle instead of a 'white steed' or whatever; I know how to play a bass guitar, not a violin or clarinet or anything fancy like that… though I _have_ been meaning to lean the cello; I think Akemi Homura-chan knows how, maybe she could help me…"

"Those are all things you can learn" Aroma replied. "And there's no reason you'd have to give up the stuff you already love."

Blushing, Teana took a breath. "Y'know what? I _really_ hope this doesn't come off as offensive, but the main reason I've gotta say no? I am _not_ comfortable in 'girly' clothing, _at all_. Yeah, I wear skirts, but they're plain and practical. I ain't touchin' stuff like ribbons and bright-pink and frills and lace and high-heels and makeup and sparkly jewelry and frilly, poofy, cutesy, floofy _dresses_ … Just the _thought_ of wearing something like that makes me feel _deeply_ uncomfortable! I've got no problems with other people who wear that kinda stuff, and I know plenty who can kick ass while dolled up in all that finery, but I'm just… not one of them. Being all girlied up like that just feels… The thought of looking like that, of being seen by other people while looking like that, makes me feel anxious and uncomfortable and vulnerable…"

The local group's members were surprised; she was an actual princess, yet she was tomboyish enough that wearing a dress, jewelry, or makeup made her that uncomfortable and insecure…

'Maybe I can introduce her to that kinda fashion little by little' Kirara thought. 'help her see how good she looks. With how pretty she is, it'd be a waste not to really show it off!'

'Perhaps if we took it step by step,' Shamour thought, 'played it slow and careful, we could help her gradually get used to such things, help her see that they wouldn't diminish her or make her 'vulnerable' in any way… Ah, but first, to do the one thing she mentioned she _wants_ to do; I'll have to schedule some cello lessons for this fine young lady!'

"If you don't wear dresses," Pafu asked, "what do you do when you have to go somewhere formal?"

"I either wear my UNSC dress-uniform," Teana replied, "or I also have a tuxedo. And lemme tell ya, it was _not_ easy finding a tailor who could make a tux that fits _these_ things…" she gestured to her rather 'ample' breasts.

"In any case," Minami spoke up, "perhaps we should move on. Teana-san, what sort of enemies are the Dimensional Defense Force dealing with at the moment?"

"Well… I mentioned how some of the Realms we've encountered and taken into the fold have fictional counterparts in others, right? Does the _Kingdom Hearts_ series exist here?"

"Yes it does" Kirara replied.

"I've played them all!" Haruka chimed in. "I've been trying to convince these girls to try it, too…"

Teana looked at Haruka. "Then you'll know who I'm talking about when I say this: the DDF's current big enemy is Master Xehanort. A few months ago he and his 'Seekers of Darkness' came out of the woodwork, almost corrupted Sora. Now, they're planning to make their next big move soon, so far as we can tell. And he's not alone; he's partnered with another big baddie called Ganondorf."

"G… Ganondorf?!" Kirara exclaimed. "Seriously?!"

"Afraid so. There are also a couple other threats out there: Jul Mdama, the Sangheili anti-human terrorist; the dark faerie sorceress Maleficent; Salem, the Grimm Queen, though she's mostly kept to her own Realm so far; Joker, an old enemy of the Smile Pretty Cures who's been skulking around causing chaos and destruction ever since his resurrection… Plus, local dark forces that we help contain before they can graduate into multi-Realm threats.

"Of course, we've got plenty of big-name allies on our side – the Z-Team, the Sailor Senshi, Commander Shepard and his crew, the Autobots, Sora and his friends, and the last Realm we went to was the Pokémon world; some DDF people already have Poké-partners, and more are likely to come soon."

"Do… Do _you_ have Pokémon, Teana-san?" Haruka asked, a spark of anticipation in her eyes.

Smiling, Teana pulled out two Pokéballs. She clicked them, and twin flashes of light sprang forth as she let out her Shroomish and her Honedge; the little waddling-head mushroom looked up at the girls with curiosity, while the ghostly sword floated beside his Trainer. The four Earthborn girls 'ooh'ed and 'aah'ed, with Haruka positively starry-eyed.

"We'll do whatever we can to help you girls win this fight" she told the locals. "We'll stop DysDark, restore the Hope Kingdom, and if Prince Kanata is alive, we'll find him. At least the enemy isn't at full strength right now; you girls have killed one of their high-ranking members, freed a second from the Darkness, and injured their Queen badly enough that she'll be out of commission for a while."

"Let's just hope that the feeling of being pushed into a corner doesn't lead them to take more drastic and aggressive measures…" Minami said.

"Anyway," Kirara stretched, "summer break is really soon. Man, I'm _really_ lookin' forward to some days off. …Well, some days off from _school_ ; I don't think DysDark will be willing to take _their_ vacation at the same time…"

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

Teana settled in okay, though she mostly kept to the shadows, not yet announcing herself to the Academy. She got along with the team quite well, the quartet asking their 'veteran magical-girl' partner for a few bits of advice. Kirara and Shamour hadn't started their plans to gradually help Teana get over her aversion to 'girly' things just yet, though they were working together to come up with ideas… And of course, being the group's main 'nicknamer', Kirara had quickly latched on to calling her 'Tia', with the redhead sighing and letting her, figuring she couldn't stop her.

A couple of days in, summer vacation started, and Haruka invited the gang to stay at her house with her family for a while – Minami, Kirara, Yui, Puff & Aroma, and Towa & Teana to their surprise. They made their way to Haruka's rather scenic hometown, the two 'newcomers' getting to meet her rather excitable family. After helping out at the family's sweets-shop, they went around doing all sorts of fun summer things, capped off with fireworks by the riverbank. During all this, Teana and Minami were trying to help Towa come to terms with what she did as Dyspear's "Princess Twilight", to help her realize that the things she did while under the witch's control weren't her fault.

Then, though, the festive mood had been spoiled by Shut appearing, creating a fireman-themed Zetsuborg and trying to torment Towa. Minami quickly came to her defense, pulling Towa out of the sorrow and guilt starting to eat at her and helping her get back up and fight. The four Cures and one mage beat the Zetsuborg around for a little while, letting Cure Scarlet finish it off, while a deeply frustrated Shut retreated.

Not long after, Towa came down with an illness while at the mostly-empty Noble Academy (since she basically lived there now), with only Puff & Aroma there to take care of her. The two animal-form fairies did their best despite their physical limitations, giving their all to care for their sick princess. To make matters worse, Shut made a small Zetsuborg out of a cicada, and Puff & Aroma were the only ones on station to fight it; the other three Cures were still on their way, and Teana was patrolling the academy's neighboring forest.

Fortunately, although Teana wasn't at the Academy when things started happening, her Pokémon were; her Honedge knocked the cicada-Zetsuborg (which had grown to about a meter in length) away with an Iron Head right when it was about to tackle Aroma out of the air, and her Shroomish coordinated with Puff to distract and disorient the little beast. The quartet got beat around a little, but the two royal fairies' dedication to protecting their princess somehow awakened a new transformation for the two of them, the healing light given off by it rejuvenating Towa as she came out to see what was going on, as well as reinvigorating Haruka, Minami, & Kirara who'd run the whole way there.

The four Cures had transformed to handle the cicada Zetsuborg, which 'molted' again to become an enormous bug monster. Although the girls managed to beat it around at first, it then revealed a massively powerful sonic attack that left them helpless. However, Puff managed to figure a way around it and boost Aroma for a flying tackle wreathed in Light magic, stunning the Zetsuborg and giving Teana an opening to drop in from above and hack one of its wings off, bringing it to the ground for Cure Scarlet to finish off.

Towa was fully recovered just in time for the local summer festival, where the girls got to enjoy the atmosphere for a while (Teana, however, chose not to enter the festival, instead patrolling along the outskirts, ostensibly "keeping an eye out for trouble" but the girls suspected it was really because she didn't want to wear a _yukata_ ). There was a little drama related to Haruka's "frenemy" Yuuki, who was very bitter and mean due to being cut from an upcoming tennis tournament because of his elbow injury, and unfortunately his three fangirls/cheerleaders were targeted by Shut to make a trio of cheerleader-themed Zetsuborgs.

During the ensuing fight, Yuuki came too close and had to be escorted to safety by Cure Flora. While doing so, she ended up scolding him for disregarding everyone worrying about him and giving up on his dream so easily. When she then rejoined the fight, finding the three other Cures and Teana having trouble breaking through the Zetsuborgs' tornado attack, Yuuki had followed and intervened, using a well-timed rock to disrupt the monsters' formation and leave them open for a Trinity Explosion and Phoenix Blaze. Afterwards, while the Cures made a flashy exit, Teana stuck around and gave Yuuki a basic explanation: the evil forces of 'DysDark' used dark magic and people's "dreams" to create monsters, the Princess Pretty Cures were chosen to fight them, and she was a non-Cure magical girl from another universe who came to help the Cures against their enemy in exchange for them helping her against her own foes after DysDark was dealt with.

Afterwards, the whole gang took a trip to a private beach resort owned by Minami's family, where Towa had a great deal of trouble admitting to the other girls that she didn't know how to swim. A heart-to-heart with Yui, however, helped her realize how silly she was being, how much her friends meant to her. And then Lock came calling, making a Zetsuborg out of Yui (despite the girl _almost_ managing to repel the process) and setting it against Cure Scarlet to keep her busy.

Meanwhile, Lock appeared on the beach to keep Teana and Cures Flora, Mermaid, & Twinkle, forming three color-shaded clones to make it into a series of one-on-one battles – Prime Lock vs. Flora, Blue Lock vs. Mermaid, Green Lock vs. Twinkle, and Yellow Lock vs. Teana. The four pairs clashed across the beach area, fists and magic blasts flying.

Teana gritted her teeth as she flash-stepped backward to avoid a heel-drop from Yellow Lock, her eyes blazing crimson; right away, she'd been able to tell she needed her Sharingan for this one due to his speed and power. She returned fire with a hail of _ki_ blasts, and Yellow Lock had to move frantically to dodge, aware that he couldn't afford to make any mistakes against an opponent of this level. The two of them took off and clashed over and over in midair, shockwaves ringing out through the trees.

The fight went on for several minutes, until both combatants sensed the Cure trio's energies flaring with high-level attacks back by the beach. Deciding to finish this up, Teana moved in close and smacked Yellow Lock with a Stage-0 Susanō arm, sending him careening down to the beach where the other girls were. The duplicate warrior got to his feet, but couldn't get out of the way as Teana appeared right in front of him, thrusting forward a chaotically-rotating sphere of Fire chakra:

" _Katon: Rasengan_!"

The resulting blast obliterated Lock's Yellow clone and made a rather unique-looking formation of glassed sand. Lock and his two remaining clones retreated, having gotten what they came for…

Later, as the sun set, everyone looked at the sparkling new Dress-Up Key that Cure Scarlet had gained after saving Yui. Haruka went to take her Keys out, so that they could all look at their Keys together… and it was then that they realized a shocking and frightening fact: during the end of the battle at the beach, Lock had stolen the 'original trio's' Dress-Up Keys!

The next day, the girls all came back to Noble Academy; semester hadn't quite started yet, but plenty of other students had returned in preparation. Haruka, Minami, & Kirara were listless and hopeless; without their Keys, they couldn't transform, couldn't fight… Towa and Teana swore to do whatever it took to fight against DysDark and reclaim the girls' Keys; Teana was already making plans to work on creating a new high-level technique, though she admitted it would probably take her a while to nail down.

The next morning, however, Puff led the group into the academy's forest, following the 'scent' of Dress-Up Keys. On their way through, the trio vanished mysteriously; Towa, Yui, Teana, & the fairies spent most of the day looking for them… and when they finally turned up, they had the final three missing Dress-Up Keys with them – Sakura, Coral, and Galaxy. They had met the spirits of the previous Princess Cures from centuries past in a dream-world, and their strength & conviction had been rekindled.

And then, the gang got a nasty surprise as a fissure in reality opened up, and out came an enormous structure and the earth it was rooted in, with a gleaming greenish-yellow eye – Hope Kingdom's castle, transformed into an enormous Zetsuborg! From its eye, it fired a massive greenish-yellow beam down at the girls…

" _Susanō_!"

A roaring reddish-orange 'flame' of chakra materialized around Teana as she took position between the girls and the attack, quickly transitioning into a large spectral warrior. Her Stage-3 _Susanō_ raised its shield, and beams of sickly light spread out in multiple directions as the Zetsuborg's attack shoved against and was deflected by the defense. As the attack cut off, she let her _Susanō_ dispel, and a flash of red light accompanied Towa transforming.

"So you just happened to be right where we crossed over, Princess Pretty Cures…" Green Lock floated into view, hands in his pockets. "That's good; it gives me a chance to wipe you all out right off the bat."

"I can sense the Dress-Up Keys…" Puff said. "They're in the castle!"

Aroma closed his eyes. "They're locked in a cage…"

"They must be acting as power sources for the castle-Zetsuborg" Cure Scarlet surmised.

"Then we have to get in there and get them out!" Haruka replied.

"We'll give you an opening," Teana said, "and we'll keep the monster and Lock's clone busy."

"Haruka…" Yui took her friend's hand. "Please, come back safe."

Haruka nodded, and Cure Scarlet formed a Scarlet Illusion barrier to block the giant Zetsuborg's next attack, while Teana fired a Crossfire Shot barrage that forced Green Lock to bob & weave, flitting around. Taking the chance, Puff used her new form's magic to warp her, Aroma, and the three girls up and away, into the possessed castle.

"Now we've gotta buy time," Teana said, "give the girls the time they need and keep that _thing_ from reaching the Noble Academy."

Cure Scarlet nodded. "I will take care of Lock's clone."

"Then leave the castle to me!" Teana took to the air, firing a barrage of _ki_ blasts at the Castle Zetsuborg. The monster fired a sweeping beam at her, and she ducked under it and exhaled two _Gōkakyū_ aimed at its eye, forcing it to close and stop its attack. Meanwhile, Cure Scarlet and Green Lock began their duel, blasts of flame and Darkness flying through the air.

The battle went on for several minutes; Teana and Scarlet were keeping their foes from advancing, but were unable to push them back. The Castle-Zetsuborg was so _massive_ that it was hard to know if it was taking any serious damage from Teana's attacks.

'This thing's damn tough' the warrior princess thought. 'Hmm… Maybe a Rasenshuriken or low-yield Big Bang Attack will-'

Suddenly, there was a brilliant flare of pink light from within the floating castle's tallest spire. The dark aura around the giant Zetsuborg fizzled and vanished, and its glowing eye closed. In response, Green Lock flew into the castle, and Teana & Scarlet pursued. Their path was barred, however, by a pair of large knight-themed Zetsuborgs. The enormous Darkness-possessed suits of armor swung their sword and axe at the fire-using duo, who scattered in either direction and launched blasts of flame at their attackers, pushing them back a little. As they readied to fight, they could both sense a sudden, frightening flare of Dark power deeper in the castle – Lock's power level spiking to a significant degree.

'Hold out until we get there, girls…' Teana thought.

Teana exhaled a barrage of Wind bullets, creating a cluster of dents in her enemy's chest-piece. The Knight-Zetsuborg roared and swung its huge axe, and Teana flashed to the side and released a _Hōsenka_ cluster aimed at its faceplate. Meanwhile, Cure Scarlet released a thin wave of flame that hit the sword-wielding Knight Zetsuborg in the neck, blasting partially through the armor there and leaving a glowing line. The monster swung its massive sword, and the midair Scarlet fired a brief burst of flame to push herself out of the way and back to the ground.

There was a loud, deep clang as Teana's kick rocked the axe-wielding Knight Zetsuborg's head to the side, sending it stumbling into the wall. She then released her Honedge to help Cure Scarlet, the ghostly blade flying in and using Iron Defense as it blocked a swing of the sword-wielding Zetsuborg's weapon. Cure Scarlet blasted the monster in the faceplate with Scarlet Flame, and then Honedge glowed black with Ghost-type power, moved in and swung. The full-power Shadow Claw hit where the neck armor had been weakened by heat, separating the Zetsuborg's head from its shoulder. The body toppled over, and the head lay on the ground, growling and feebly trying to wiggle around, making a doomed attempt to get back over to its body. The axe-wielding Zetsuborg, meanwhile, was deprived of its weapon by a _ki_ blast to its wrist, and then a Crossfire Convergence centered on its head knocked it out cold.

Teana and Cure Scarlet hurried on, soon reaching the throne room, and were surprised to see that Lock had transformed himself into a massive toad-dragon. The beast exhaled a stream of greenish flames at Cures Flora, Mermaid, & Twinkle, and Cure Scarlet rushed in and used Scarlet Illusion to protect them. Teana rushed forward to engage Lock's dragon form, which proved faster than his bulk would suggest, keeping pace with her. A _Shinkū Taigyoku_ barely drew more than a flinch, and the beast growled as he swung his massive tail at her, smacking against the Round Shield she conjured and knocking her away; Tia barely managed to halt her uncontrolled flight before she could smack into the far wall.

Then, there was a brilliant light from where the Cures and fairies were, and then the entire massive floating castle suddenly vanished. Teana began to move to catch the girls, only to see the shimmering multicolored light holding them safely in the air. Then, the light coalesced in front of the four Cures, forming into a sparkling crystalline model palace with Dress-Up Key slots on a wheel-like thing on the front. Lock began a divebomb run at the Cures, only to be blindsided by a Divine Buster from Teana, the wave of orange energy stunning the toad-dragon.

Gathering around the castle-like object, the Cure Quartet slotted their Sakura, Coral, Galaxy, and Sun Keys into the device, and Flora set it spinning. The surroundings changed, coming to resemble the interior of a massive crystalline palace, and the girls were enveloped in pillars of light; their outfits turned into sparkling, full white layered dresses tinted their respective colors, lace-lined ribbons with the Princess Cure insignia appearing from their waists, their hair lengthening, jewelry and adornments appearing and changing on them, their power levels jumping up significantly.

Two glowing, rotating runes appeared above & below Lock, while the image of a massive crystal palace appeared behind him. The four Cures in their 'Dress Up Premium' forms dashed in and surrounded their foe, pointing their hands out in a Final Flash-like position and firing out four scintillating beams of magical power:

"PreCure: _Éclat Espoir!-!_ "

The four beams coiled around Lock, pushing the draconic monster upward. The transformed beast roared and strained as he tried to push back against the massive Light power assailing him, but Cure Flora gave it an extra push, and Lock was completely engulfed, his beast form torn apart. The resulting explosion took the form of beautiful fireworks lighting the night sky, as the Cures took a bow.

'So much power…' Teana thought. 'Even a Super Saiyan couldn't shrug off being hit by _that_!'

The girls and the fairy duo all floated back down to Yui, the Cures de-transforming upon landing. Cure Flora held out the 'Crystal Palace', admiring its beauty.

"I can't believe the Hope Kingdom's castle turned into this…" she remarked.

"It's brimming with Light magic," Teana observed, "more than I ever thought I'd see condensed into such a small space… I think it's safe to say it'll come in handy, huh?"

"And we've dealt with Lock" Minami said. "So much for his plan to usurp Dyspear…"

"Let's head back" Kirara suggested. "I'm beat after all that…"

Nobody noticed the red-eyed crow quietly absorbing the cast-off 'despair energy' in the area, nor the raven perched atop a tree overlooking the scene…

 **-** ** _CHAPTER END_** **-**


	12. Go Princess 2

**PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** ** _CHAPTER START_** **-**

 **Realm PC-9**

In the aftermath of the battle against Lock, the team was surprised to find him unconscious and injured, purified and purged of Darkness… and reverted to his true form of a cute little cat-type fairy. For now, Shamour was taking care of and watching over him. As the second semester started up, Haruka quickly made a friend with a shy girl who had a natural talent for flower-arranging, encouraging the girl to try going pro in that field.

As the sun began to set, however, Haruka and the others were drawn outside by a massive murder of crows suddenly appearing. One of them divebombed at Haruka, and Towa shoved her out of the way just in time. The lead bird then flew up and, backlit by the setting sun, transformed into a human-looking figure, one that by all rights they should've never seen again.

"N… No way…" Kirara whispered.

"This can't be…" Aroma stared. "You're supposed to be dead!"

"It's been a while… Cure Flora."

Looking down at Haruka's shocked face, Close smirked.

"H… How?" she asked.

"I pulled myself up out of Hell… just to get the chance to defeat you again."

Teana and the four Cures transformed, and Cure Flora launched herself up at Close with a petal-wreathed punch. Close 'flickered', dodging her blow, and then hit her with a downward elbow strike that rocketed her down into the ground. Cures Mermaid and Twinkle went next, flinging Frozen Ripple and Meteor Humming attacks at him, but he released a slicing wave of Darkness that cut through Mermaid's attempt to freeze him and blasted her away, and shrugged off Twinkle's star-bolts and then blasted her down.

Cure Scarlet came down from above with a flaming drop-kick, but Close casually lifted his hand to conjure a transparent purple-tinted Barrier that stopped her attack cold. He was about to counterstrike, but then had to shift focus and turn to block a powerful punch from Teana, the orange-haired girl's Sharingan eyes glaring calmly at him.

"Cure Scarlet, formerly 'Princess Twilight', and the non-Cure interloper from another Realm… Neither of you are as imposing as I was made to believe."

He shoved Teana back and immediately hit Cure Scarlet with an overhead kick that smacked her down to the ground below. Teana came back in, engaging Close in a brief exchange of rapid-fire blows, until he managed to flip over her and fired a point-blank Darkness wave. Teana instinctively brought her hands out to catch the blast, being slowly shoved back by the force, until finally it sped up and she was pushed clear over the academy's main building, disappearing from sight.

"You girls may have gotten stronger since last we met," he told the Cures, "but my growth since then is much greater than yours. …Hmph. I didn't even need to be here, I think."

He pulled out two 'seeds' of Darkness and let them drop. As they hit the ground they sank into it, and a few seconds later two spires of twisting dark vines rapidly grew up, topped by dull-red flower buds. The flowers opened, to reveal two similar-looking odd humanoid figures – enhanced, special-made Zetsuborgs, extra-strength and self-aware.

"Stop, Freeze, get to it" Close ordered.

"Yes, commander" the twins replied in unison, vanishing together. Several seconds later, they reappeared accompanied by Haruka's new friend Hanae in a 'despair cage', and a two-'eyed' flower-themed Zetsuborg. The monster fired a pair of flower-arrows at Cures Mermaid & Twinkle, but Flora & Scarlet blasted the incoming attacks with their own. The Zetsuborg targeted them next, only for Mermaid & Twinkle to return the favor, barriers of Ice and Starlight blocking the attacks.

"Flowers, huh?" Close crossed his arms. "Why bother going out of your way to make 'em look nice? They just wilt away soon."

"But that doesn't mean they can't bloom again!" Cure Flora shouted, readying her Rod weapon. "PreCure: Lys Tourbillon!"

The focused wave of conjured white petals and wind hit the flower-themed Zetsuborg in the chest, shoving it back a little. As the other three Cures got ready to attack, Close pointed his palm down at them, preparing to blast them while their guard was down…

" _Fūton: Rasenshuriken!_ "

Suddenly sensing the enormous power coming at him from behind, Close immediately got out of the way. Freeze & Stop followed suit, but the big Zetsuborg wasn't as lucky; Teana's attack slammed into its back and detonated, trapping the large monster in the heart of a huge sphere of slicing, tearing Wind chakra. The combatants on both sides stared in awe at the massive power of the technique; even Close's eyes had widened, knowing a direct hit from that would do some serious damage to him, maybe even kill him (again).

'A technique like that lets this girl hit above her weight class; even Dyspear-sama would feel it if she got hit by _that_ …'

As the attack's energies faded, the badly-damaged Zetsuborg fell to the ground with a thud, barely holding itself together. Cure Twinkle hit it with a Twinkle Humming attack, finishing it off, as Teana came back to the group, looking up at the enemy leader trio.

"Flowers may bloom again," Close announced, "but so does despair. No matter how much you quash it, it _always_ comes back, again and again. You girls would do well to keep that in mind…"

He and his two minions retreated through keyhole-shaped Dark Gateways, giving Cure Flora the opening she needed to free Kanae from the despair cage.

"I can't believe he managed to revive himself…" Kirara said as she de-transformed. "And he's stronger than ever, too."

- _Break_ -

Soon after, there was another little bit of drama as Ijuin Kimimaro, Minami's childhood friend and self-proclaimed fiancée, showed up at the Academy to spend a portion of his summer break with his 'sweet honey'. Kimimaro quickly made a nuisance of himself; it wasn't _too_ bad, all things considered… until he decided that Haruka was a bad influence on Minami, seeking her out when she was along and angrily denouncing her, telling her she wasn't worthy of being part of Minami's entourage or even being at the Academy.

Unfortunately for him, Minami was nearby and heard everything. She proceeded to chew him out for his behavior, and when he insulted Haruka again she _slapped_ him, spelling out to him that she had changed from his 'ideal' of her, that Haruka was her precious friend, and that if he couldn't accept that then she didn't want to see him ever again. He went off to reflect on his actions… and Stop & Freeze found and made a groom-themed Zetsuborg out of him, bringing the girls into a battle where Cure Flora's reckless aggression in her attempt to be 'worthy' of being with Minami got the girls in further trouble.

However, Cure Mermaid was able to calm her down and tell her to disregard what Kimimaro had said, that Flora was fine the way she was. With her head on straight, Flora was able to lead the charge, the girls using Éclat Espoir to defeat the powerful Zetsuborg. In the aftermath, Teana prevented Kimimaro from seeing Minami and Haruka again before he returned to England, spelling out that his punishment for his behavior was to have his last impression on them be a bad one.

A couple days later, Miss Shamour decided it was time for the Cure Quartet to receive makeup lessons, and she also deftly poked holes in Teana's flimsy attempts to excuse herself from it and got her to stay for it as well. Thus, Tia had to try her best not to squirm and fidget from the embarrassed discomfort she felt as the cat-fairy skillfully and cheerfully applied some light, tasteful makeup around her eyes, giving her luscious lashes and faint eyeshadow.

"So, how is Kuroro doing?" Minami asked.

"He's awake" Shamour replied as she rooted around in the makeup case for blush and lipstick that would go well with Tia's complexion. "He's very shy, though. Homesick, too. It seems he doesn't remember much, if anything, from his time as 'Lock'. He's over in that cat play area in the corner if you want to go see him. Be gentle; he's still rather timid."

'I must remember to take a picture of Princess Teana when we're done' she thought to herself. 'She mentioned having a girlfriend, and that lucky young lady deserves to see her beloved's beauty!'

Shamour glanced over at Teana as reference for which makeup to grab, and saw how embarrassed and insecure the tomboyish girl looked, cheeks flushed pink and eyes cast down. The cat-fairy sighed; hopefully this could help make a little progress…

The next day, Shamour appeared to have disappeared, though Puff confirmed she'd taken Kuroro with her into the city. The four Cures, two fairies, Yui, & Teana headed into Yumegahama in search of the pair, catching sight of them multiple times but never managing to catch up to them. Finally, they managed to link up as Shamour was leading Kuroro to where two cat gangs shared turf. The two groups started to fight, and Shamour came up with a rather unorthodox way to solve the problem, roping the girls and Kuroro into helping.

Then, Shut appeared to make trouble, though his heart obviously wasn't in it; he used the cats to create a trio of fish-themed Zetsuborgs, while he himself engaged Shamour in battle. However, the elegant fairy teacher managed to easily outmaneuver, disarm, and defeat him while looking awesome doing it, and then, when Shut confessed to the heavy stress he'd been under recently, Shamour… gave him a makeup lesson, doing what she could to help him regain his poise and confidence. The flamboyant man was delighted with the results, leaving with a smile even after the girls thrashed the Zetsuborgs he'd made.

As thanks for helping them, the cats gave Haruka a small golden pendant… that carried the Hope Kingdom royal seal. The fairies pointed out that it could only be Prince Kanata's; not only was he alive, he was somewhere in or near Yumegahama…

Soon after, Haruka entered a local 'Princess Contest' in hopes of finding another lead. Kirara had to give her some special training and advice, including how to runway-walk, and promised to help Haruka with her makeup before her turn on the stage. Unfortunately, a Zetsuborg kept Kirara, Minami, Towa, and Teana from being there for Haruka's turn, but Haruka managed to improvise through the troubles she encountered and then make it in time to help bring the Zetsuborg down. She ended up winning the Audience's Choice award… and, as they were leaving the stadium, she caught sight of someone who looked like Kanata amongst the crowd of people traveling away across the intersection…

After a couple days of searching, they finally managed to find Kanata, living with the old man who ran the violin shop. Unfortunately, though, Kanata had lost his memories, to Towa's great distress. Even meeting the royal fairies, seeing Haruka transform, and seeing the Crystal Palace didn't jog his memory.

"Teana-san, couldn't you do something with your eyes' powers?" Haruka asked.

Teana shook her head. "The one time I used my Sharingan to restore someone's memories, they had been hit by a spell deliberately designed to seal away a person's memories. Kanata-san, on the other hand, was hit by a high-power blast of Dark magic. By all rights, it could've torn him to shreds, but instead his innate defenses shunted most of the damage to his mind. His memories must still be in there – only very specially-crafted, deliberately-cast, and delicately-performed magic can _erase_ memories instead of just locking them away – but I fear any attempt I make to force them out could cause more damage."

They tried playing the royal siblings' old violin song, to no avail. Even taking Kanata to the flowery field where he and Haruka met as young children didn't get anything more than a brief split-second flash of a field full of flowers, without any context. At the very least, they all got to enjoy playing with a group of young children here… until Stop & Freeze showed up and made one of them into a princess-themed Zetsuborg.

Thankfully, the four Cures were good enough by now that they handled the Zetsuborg with little difficulty; Teana didn't even need to step in, other than shouting at them to watch out for an incoming surprise attack from underground. After the Zetsuborg was defeated, Haruka decreed that they would do what they could to maybe help Kanata regain himself little by little, and in the meantime they could 'start over' as his friend.

Minami's amazingly wealthy philanthropist parents invited the group to come join a party being held at one of their cruise liners when it came into dock for the evening. During the afternoon leading up to this, they met Kitakaze Asuka, a skilled and esteemed veterinarian specializing in aquatic animals. As she watched Asuka work, learning about the woman's outlook and dreams, about how her actions affected the world, Minami began to think long and hard about her future…

During the party, Teana chose to stay out on the deck to keep watch (and so that she wouldn't turn heads amongst the upper-class by showing up in her tux), and thus she was the first responder when Stop & Freeze used Dr. Kitakaze to create a penguin-themed Zetsuborg, keeping the monster at bay until the Cure Quartet came out to join the battle. Cure Mermaid took the lead in the fight, bringing the Zetsuborg into an underwater battle and thrashing it, the monster barely getting the chance to fight back. After the girls purified the monster and freed Dr. Kitakaze, Minami couldn't help but think some more about her future, about what path in life she truly wished to take…

After a bit of drama involving a school play, Haruka met a student from a neighboring class, a boy named Kurosu. Though a bit odd, he encouraged the girls to follow their dreams, and offered to come along with Yui to an art exhibition, to meet her at the museum. Towa didn't trust him, though, so she chose to accompany Yui, with Teana tagging along as well.

It was a shame that Haruka chose not to listen to Towa's suspicions, for 'Kurosu' turned out to be Close, enacting his latest plan to separate the girls so he could take Haruka down one-on-one. As Close and Cure Flora fought in the town's bordering forest, Kanata hurried for the battle-zone with Puff & Aroma, while Cure Scarlet, Teana, and Yui were intercepted by Stop & Freeze, the Zetsu-Twins holding the two fire-users back for as long as they could before being forced to retreat.

Scarlet and Teana hurried on, heading toward the spot where they'd seen Close & Flora duking it out in the air from a distance. As they closed in, they suddenly sensed a 'pulse' of despair-based Darkness magic that seemed to permeate the entire city. They came across a small clearing, where Kanata, the fairy pair, and Haruka were… and just as they arrived, Haruka turned from him and took off running into the woods.

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

Any attempts to find Haruka after that failed, even when Minami & Kirara returned in the evening. Searching the next morning didn't do any better. The amnesiac Kanata had basically thrown away any goodwill he had with the girls once they found out what he'd said & done, with even Towa refusing to smile for him; combine that with being haunted by the empty, brokenhearted look in Haruka's eyes, and he was in a very tormented state of mind.

Late in the morning after Haruka disappeared, Close's grand plan finally activated. Fed by Haruka's despair, 'Despair Vines' suddenly and violently sprang up all over the town of Yumegahama, cloaking the city in misty Darkness and twisting, thorny black vines – a reproduction of the Forest of Despair. Anyone ensnared by the vines was made into a Zetsuborg, producing a small army of them in short order.

Minami, Kirara, Towa, & Teana transformed and mobilized, hurrying into the city to start clearing out the Zetsuborgs; Kanata, Puff, & Aroma followed. The difficult part was that they were all over the damn place. Furthermore, Close, Shut, and Stop & Freeze showed up as well, with Close perched atop a between-buildings bridge smirking down at the heroes. His barrier easily deflected the attacks they threw his way, and when Mermaid & Scarlet tried to attack him from the sides he grabbed hold of them and threw them back down to the ground.

- _Break_ -

As Haruka lay face-down on the pavement, her hair-clip and her inert Princess Perfume on the ground in front of her, despair steadily engulfed her.

"I can't… become a princess? It's… impossi…ble…"

"Such sorrow and anguish…" a deep, smooth baritone voice proclaimed, footsteps drawing near. "Cruel words have dealt such a devastating blow to your Heart… allowing Darkness to take root in it."

As Haruka slowly looked up, her listless despair was abruptly joined by terror.

"Perhaps…," the black-cloaked man with long silver hair pulled out a tiny black 'seed' with a golden 'χ' on it, "I shall give that Darkness some help to sprout…"

- _Break_ -

"I don't really know who you are," Close said to Kanata, "but I've really gotta thank you. I worked hard to drag Cure Flora into despair, so as to awaken the seeds I planted all over the city… but it was _you_ who dealt the finishing blow, and pushed her over the event-horizon into the depths of despair! I couldn't have done it without ya, man!"

As Close clapped, the amnesiac Kanata trembled in horror. It was all his fault… He'd been trying to protect Haruka, but instead he'd hurt her more than anyone else ever had or ever will… and in so doing, may have doomed this town, if not the entire world. After a few seconds of paralyzed shock, he took off running; he _had_ to find Haruka, to explain himself, to set things right. Stop & Freeze tried to bare his path, but Twinkle and Teana blasted them and their Zetsuborgs out of the way, and then joined Mermaid & Scarlet in resuming the fight.

'Haruka… I'm so sorry… I just wanted to protect you, but I didn't understand what I was doing. Your dream… It's _everything_ to you. I didn't understand what kind of power dreams held… but now I do. I want to see you smile again! I want to save you from my mistake! I want to help you rediscover your will, your dream, your determination to protect everyone's dreams! I…'

As he was mid-stride, a gleaming white light enveloped the young man. A shining staff formed in his right hand, and a regal uniform took shape around him, as the dam holding back all those memories finally crumbled away. With regained self and reignited purpose, Prince Kanata channeled magic through his body, his run speeding up dramatically. Suddenly, he sensed a great Darkness up ahead, somewhat different from the dark magic that DysDark used. He hurried to the city's end of the bridge that connected Yumegahama to Noble Academy, and saw a figure up ahead. And as he got close, what he saw made his blood run cold.

Haruka was engulfed in a surging flame-like aura of Darkness, dark-purple with hints of black. A blood-red blade of energy was in her hand, and when she looked up at him her teeth were bared, and her eyes – bright golden-yellow with black sclera – glared at him with utter, raging hate.

"H… Haru…ka?"

Corrupted-Haruka 'flickered', and Prince Kanata barely raised his staff in time to block a downward swing of the dark-red blade meant to slice him in two, the transferred force cracking the pavement beneath him. The Darkness-tainted girl snarled at him, pushing down with her energy blade, trying to overpower him.

"Haruka, it's me!" he shouted. "Prince Hope Grand Kanata! I'm sorry! I have my memories back; I remember everything! I was just trying to-"

She kicked him back, the blocked blow still sending him skidding on his heels.

"She cannot hear you, boy."

Startled, Kanata turned to the nearby treeline, seeing a tall man in a long black cloak, hood back to reveal tanned skin, yellow eyes, slightly pointed ears, and long, wild-looking silver hair. Kanata sensed the enormous, virulent Darkness this man carried, yet he was plainly not a member of DysDark.

"Who are you? What have you done to her?!"

"I planted a 'Seed of Darkness' in her Heart, using the Darkness _your_ words gave rise to as a base for it. When it consumes her completely, her Heartless will make a mighty agent of our organizations might, while her Nobody should make a good candidate to carry our leader's essence within. And as for me…" The man took a theatric bow. "My name is Xemnas, the 'Nobody' of Keyblade Master Xehanort, and a member of the Seekers of Darkness, we who seek to forge the χ-Blade, and gain access to the Heart of all Creation."

As Kanata's eyes widened, Corrupted-Haruka charged at him, and he prepared to ready a carefully-calibrated Light blast in hopes of knocking her back to her senses… only to have to cancel that and quickly dodge as Xemnas came in, lightsaber-like red blades trying to take his head off. Kanata was forced to give ground against Corrupted-Haruka's relentless assault, and whenever he tried to get the upper hand or go on the offensive, Xemnas would jump in and force him back. And the corrupted Cure wasn't limited to melee; she fired at Kanata with blasts of Darkness from her palm, and slicing waves of power released from her sword, keeping the Prince constantly on his toes.

Suddenly, several figures came rocketing in, not all of them under their own power; Cures Mermaid, Twinkle, & Scarlet slammed into the pavement, Teana landed hard on her feet with the remnants of a half-destroyed Stage-0 _Susanō_ ribcage around her, and Close flew in with a few minor-looking wounds, the other three DysDark leaders in his wake.

"P… Prince?!" Aroma shouted. "That outfit… You've got your memories back?!"

"Haruka?! What's wrong with her?!" Cure Mermaid fretted, shocked by the raging Darkness enveloping her friend.

"Xemnas?!" Teana growled, summoning her twin Mirage Longswords.

"Hey now, what's all this?" Close asked. "A Nobody? And one with a major Dark power level, too. And did he manage to corrupt Cure Flora, somehow?"

"My, my" Xemnas smirked. "So much going on. To think I could be in the presence of such royalty – the Princes & Princess of a conquered kingdom, and the Princess of a destroyed one…"

Corrupted-Haruka rushed at Kanata again. When Cures Twinkle & Scarlet tried to intervene, Stop & Freeze attacked them, keeping them back, while Cure Mermaid had to deal with a pack of Zetsuborgs, with Puff & Aroma. Teana, meanwhile, moved to engage Xemnas, red and orange mana blades clashing in a deadly dance. Several 'Dusk' Nobodies came in to help their master, only for Teana to sic her Shroomish & Honedge on them, Mega Drains and Metal Claws making quick work of the ghostly enemies. Close reached into a small keyhole-shaped portal and pulled out a bag of popcorn. And Shut just gave up and had a seat on a vine-entangled car, joined there by Yui.

"I have no idea what's going on anymore…" Shut muttered. All Yui could do was give him a comforting pat on the shoulder, as they watched the chaos unfold.

Prince Kanata grunted as he batted another Darkness ball away with his staff, and then ducked under a swing of Corrupted-Haruka's katana-like crimson energy blade that had been aimed at his neck. 'How did it come to this?' he thought as he used his staff to block and parry her frenzied attacks. 'Close's machinations, the things I said when I didn't have my memories, that fallen Keyblade Master's agent… all combined to turn Haruka into… into _this_ … I can't let it end this way! Haruka has fought so hard to protect others' smiles and dreams… Now I need to do the same for her! Please… Haruka!'

Suddenly, a small bag containing a simple trinket in Haruka's handbag began to glow brightly. It floated up out of the bag, and the corrupted girl's dark aura wavered and weakened, her sclera going back to normal white as she froze up. She tried to keep fighting, but her movements were slower and weaker now.

"Haruka, _please_! I couldn't remember! I was wrong! Please, remember your dream, and all the people who've supported you in it!"

' _My… dream…_ '

"A true princess never gives up on her dreams! Remember, Haruka!"

The little bag's glow brightened, and then it began to shift in form. Xemnas tried to rush in and interfere, but this left him open to a tripping low-kick from Teana and then a downward smash from a Stage-0 _Susanō_ fist that hammered him into the ground. The object burst into Light and took the form of a new, very fancy-looking Dress-Up Key, its light beginning to wrap around Haruka, trying to burn the Darkness away. Seeing an opening, Cure Twinkle sent a Twinkle Humming attack in, its purification magic hitting her Darkness-tainted friend from behind and melding with the Royal Dress-Up Key's cleansing magic to boost and complete the process.

There was a brilliant flash of golden & white light, which then transitioned to pink as Cure Flora returned in style. Close shouted "What?!" and then began thumping at his chest as he choked on a piece of his popcorn. Frowning, Xemnas retreated through a Corridor of Darkness. Stop & Freeze tried to rush at Cure Flora, but she formed a Rose Tourbillon that caught them in its petals and then blasted them away into the distance.

"So you've regained your dream…" Close growled. "But does it really matter? As long as you have a dream, its chains will follow you everywhere, setbacks and losses eating away at you!"

"That's fine!" Flora shouted back. "If those are part of my dream, then I'll accept them! I'm _never_ giving up again, no matter what anyone says!"

Close dove down at her, and she met his punch with her own, flowing into a rapid exchange of blows and actually pushing him back slowly. Shut made a token effort to interfere, but a Wind attack from Teana blew him away. Cure Mermaid tossed her Crystal Princess Rod to Flora, who slotted her Lily Key into it and dual-wielded with her own Rose-equipped wand. White and red petals combined into a beautiful torrent of power that hammered into Close's defenses, blasting him back. Stop & Freeze came back in, catching their Master and helping him regain control of his motion, and he snarled at the flower-themed heroine.

"Girls, use this!" Kanata tossed the new Key to the quartet. "Bring this battle to an end!"

Calling forth the Princess Palace, the Cure Quartet gathered around it, as Flora slotted the new Key into its central slot and set it spinning. The girls were enveloped in light, assuming the poofy, elegant dresses that their _Éclat Espoir_ gave them, only now with huge, lacy ribbon bows from their backs. Furthermore, their power levels were even higher than their Dress-Up Premium forms.

"Dress-Up: Royal!"

Royal Flora extended her hand, and Close, Stop, & Freeze were tapped in a pillar of light as an _enormous_ crystalline palace appeared behind them. The Cure Quartet soared high into the clouds, and then flew through an enormous golden crown-thing and dove down at them:

"PreCure: _Grand Printemps!-!_ "

As the Cures traveled as a rainbow-hued mass of light, they flew down through four glowing runes – red, golden, blue, and finally pink, each one increasing the size of their shared rainbow aura and the speed of their descent. Close formed his strongest barrier just before they crashed down into him like a beautiful comet, a shockwave of Light magic lighting the castle up and making flowers bloom all over the area. As Stop & Freeze started to succumb, Close quickly formed a keyhole-portal and pulled them through it.

Together with a fireworks-like explosion, a wave of sparkling magic raced out across the entire town. The 'Despair Vines' were obliterated, the dark miasma blown away to reveal blue sky. Every Zetsuborg was destroyed, and every captive person was freed and awakened. The girls floated back over to Kanata, Yui, Teana, and the fairies, their sparkly outfits reverting to their base Cure forms and then de-transforming. The first thing Towa did was run into her big brother's arms.

"You've done splendidly, girls" he said to them. "Close may have gotten away, but you saved the entire town."

"For something so frilly and sparkly," Teana said with a grin, "that sure had a hell of a lot of power. "Still… The fact that Xemnas showed up and played a role in things… It's worrying. If he tries anything else…"

"We'll handle him if he does" Kirara replied. "Let's see him get hit by what we just used and still be on his feet afterwards…"

"Girls, I… I was almost lost…" Haruka admitted. "But, being reminded of how everyone had supported my dream helped me break free!"

"Haruka, I… I'm so sorry" Kanata bowed. "My amnesiac self was just trying to help you, but instead…"

She shook her head with a smile. "You didn't know. And, everything's all right now! I can believe in myself again. I'm going to become a splendid princess, no matter what gets in my way! Nothing's gonna stop me!"

"Like my prince uncle said," Teana replied, "it's important to have pride in yourself and your abilities. Though, you also have to be sure not to let that pride rule you or blind you, and not to let it turn into arrogance. That's a lesson he learned the hard way…"

"Who _is_ your uncle, anyway?" Minami asked. "I get that he's a prince, but…"

Teana grinned. "Secret for now~"

From atop one of the nearby trees, a raven took flight, heading off to report these recent events to his mistress…

 **-** ** _CHAPTER END_** **-**

I had originally planned to have Corrupted-Haruka manage to chop off Kanata's left arm in the fight, but at the last minute I decided "On second thought, nah, let's cut that". How 'last minute'? It was the reason she had a sword instead of just using unarmed strikes and energy blasts. That's how last-minute' my decision to cut the idea was.

Anyway, now the girls are on a roll, but their battle's not over yet. And just who is it that's watching things unfold?


	13. Go Princess 3

**PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** ** _CHAPTER START_** **-**

 **Realm PC-9**

After everything that had happened, the group went back to the old man's violin shop to recuperate, and to let the man know that Kanata had regained his memories. Also, the girls got to see Towa in her cute and excitable 'baby sister' mode, considering this was her first proper meeting with her beloved big brother in several years. Meanwhile, Teana asked Miss Shamour if she could help her with creating her next big technique; "I've already come way too close to blowing myself up once, and I'd rather not go through that too many more times."

Then, however, the Royal Key floated up while glowing with a vibrant red light. Towa took hold of it and slotted it into her 'Princess Perfume', and the light flared up and engulfed everyone in the room. When the light faded, they all found themselves in the Forest of Despair, the dark-skied, vine-choked realm that was once Hope Kingdom. Overcome with despair and horror at seeing his home like this, Kuroro ran off; Yui, Minami, Kirara, and the other three fairies went off to find him, while Haruka, Towa, Kanata, and Teana tried to look around for a way out.

Unfortunately, Queen Dyspear sensed the heroes' presence in 'her' realm, and dispatched a high-level Zetsuborg after them, taking the form of a large wolf-like beast made of bright blue flames. The monster proved powerful enough that Cure Scarlet's despair- and rage-driven assault was easily and violently repulsed, and her teammates fared little better against the beast's flame attacks.

Teana was about to cut loose, use a Stage-3 _Susanō_ or even go Super, but then Scarlet recalled the things she'd learned from her & Kanata's parents years ago, and managed to calm herself down and properly focus her convictions. In response, Scarlet managed to awaken a new attack, 'Scarlet Prominence', destroying the Zetsuborg's body and leaving its core vulnerable to a team purifying strike.

Afterwards, they were led to a vine-covered old castle, the same one where Towa, as 'Twilight', had found the fourth Princess Perfume. She and Kanata performed their old violin duet together, and the resonating magic made her Sun Key glow brightly. She slotted it and her other Keys into the Princess Palace, and a pulse of red light washed over the area. The vines clinging to the castle were obliterated, damage was repaired, and the Flame Castle's fires were again lit, activating an expanding dome of Light that pushed the Despair Vines back for a few hundred meters in every direction. Furthermore, a red band of light shot up from the castle and curved through the air – part of the Hope Kingdom's royal rainbow, restored.

The castle's doors opened, briefly showing Yumegahama, but then switching to a far-off section of this Realm, to the group's confusion.

" _Heroes & Heroines of the Light,_" the previous Cure Flora's voice rang out, " _there is another task awaiting you before you can return to Earth. In this region, a creature is suffering. It has been forcibly ensnared by Darkness, the dark power assailing its body and mind. The beast came from another World, and fell through a crack between Realms to wind up here. You must free this creature from the shadows that threaten to devour it completely. Be warned; it is a mighty creature, made even stronger by the corruption. If its soul totally succumbs to the Dark, its power could burn everything to ash…_ "

The whole group passed through the portal, ending up in a barren area of dull bluish-gray rock and a few Despair Vines, under a dark sky. They barely had time to get their bearings before numerous dark creatures with jagged-looking red eyes appeared – Unversed, drawn by the corrupted creature's anguish and fury. A Scrapper leapt at Teana from above, and she drew a Mirage Longsword and sliced it in half down the middle. Cure Flora used Rose Tourbillon to blow away a pair of Bruisers that tried to charge at her, while a Meteor Humming from Cure Twinkle swatted a squadron of Yellow Mustards out of the sky.

Teana sent out her Shroomish & Honedge to help protect Yui and Kuroro, Shroomish's Bullet Seed blasting back an Axe Flapper that tried to divebomb her while a Flood attempting to ambush the girl was in turn ambushed by Honedge's Shadow Sneak. Prince Kanata released a wave of Light Arrows at a flock of Archravens, while a pair of Sonic Blasters were encased in ice and shattered by Mermaid's Frozen Ripple attack, and Cure Scarlet burned a small pack of Blue Sea Salts to ashes.

As the lesser Unversed fell, something bigger and stronger leapt in from a vine-encrusted cliff above: a Mad Treant, shaking its leaf-covered arms and roaring at the hero group. It swung its branches wildly, sending fruit-shaped bombs in all directions, forcing the group to scatter to avoid the blasts. The leaves on its left-'arm' branch glowed red, and it swung to release a fireball at Cure Twinkle, who formed a Full-Moon Humming barrier to block it, and then returned fire with a barrage of twinkling star-shaped magic blasts. As the Mad Treant shielded its eyes from the attack, Cure Mermaid's Frozen Ripple froze its leaves into a solid vaguely afro-looking mass of ice, and Teana then shattered them with a Rasengan from above. Cure Flora further damaged the monster with a Floral Tourbillon, and then a Scarlet Prominence finished it off, burning the tree-themed Unversed to ashes.

The group moved on, fighting their way through a couple more Unversed packs. Finally, they entered a dark, rocky area that felt warmer than it should be. They looked around, waiting for the next trouble to show itself.

"There's a powerful dark presence nearby…" Kanata announced. "I think we're close to what we came here for."

"How close?" Puff asked.

Suddenly, a large ball of dark fire raced by low overhead, forcing Cure Flora and Teana to duck to avoid being hit in the head by it. A barrage of small fire-bolts fell in its wake, forcing the team to scatter a little.

(MUSIC: _Pokémon Sun/Moon OST_ – "A Totem Pokémon Appears")

The fireball looped around and slammed straight down to the ground from above, a pair of black clawed talons digging into the rock. Two large, flaming wings unwrapped and extended out, the creature's eyes glowing red with an evil-looking glare. It was a huge, fiery bird, with ghostly pale plumage, and surging purple & black flames in place of a head-crest, tail feathers, or main wing feathers. A dark aura wavered around it, heat and Darkness radiating from it.

"A… A Moltres?" Teana stared. "A Darkness-corrupted Moltres?!"

"W… We're supposed to take on a Legendary Pokémon?" Cure Twinkle asked.

"I can sense it…" Cure Flora said. "It's in pain! That Darkness is driving it mad! We have to help it!"

"I think we'll have to beat it down before we can purify it" Cure Mermaid replied. "It feels quite strong…"

"That's never stopped any of us before" Teana said. "Let's do what we can, girls! Time to bring this bird back to its senses!"

(BATTLE MUSIC: _Pokémon Sun/Moon_ OST – "Battle! Totem Pokémon")

The corrupted Moltres reared back with flaming wings spread, letting out an echoing cry as is Dark aura surged to life around it, boosting its power. It opened its beak wide and exhaled a focused torrent of dark flames, crashing against Kanata & Shamour's combined barrier. Teana flew up and fired a _Fūton: Shinkū Taigyoku_ down at the dark firebird, which took to the air to dodge the blast and then came at Teana with an attempted Wing Attack. Teana let herself fall to dodge, and then her Shroomish hit the Corrupted-Moltres in the underside with a Seed Bomb launched from below.

The Dark Legendary dove down at Teana's Grass-type 'mon, but Cure Mermaid intercepted with Bubble Ripple, large water-bubbles slamming into the Dark Moltres like cannonballs, its flaming body sizzling. Crowing, the Corrupted Moltres used Agility to remove itself from the path of the remaining bubbles, and then cast Ancient Power, making several chunks of rock float up and fling themselves at Cure Mermaid. Teana's Honedge intercepted, his blade glowing with Steel-type energy as he sliced the rocks out of the air.

Cure Flora fired a Lys Tourbillon at the Corrupted Moltres, pushing it back and doing some damage. The dark firebird flapped its wings forward to release an Air Slash, and Cure Scarlet formed a Scarlet Illusion barrier to protect Flora, while Teana fired a Crossfire Shot barrage, the orange mana bolts hitting the Dark Legendary from multiple angles. Unfortunately, only about half got through before the bird formed a Fire Spin shield around itself to deflect the rest.

The dark firebird charged along the ground at Kanata and Yui, but Teana's Shroomish got in the way and hit the Corrupted Moltres in the chest with a Headbutt, actually shoving it back a bit. He then released a Spore attack, but the Dark Legendary quickly shrouded itself with Safeguard, and then tried to smack the little nuisance away with one of its huge, flaming wings. Shroomish nimbly dodged the swing, blasted the Corrupted Moltres with a Seed Bomb to the face, but was then sent tumbling back as the next Wing Attack hit. Skidding to stop, the little mushroom tried to shake off the pain and damage, glaring at the beast threatening his Trainer's friends.

Then, however, Shroomish was enveloped in light, his body becoming a shining mass of light that grew in size and changed in shape. When the light faded, the mushroom-like Pokémon now had a body shape more like a kangaroo, with two-toed feet & hands and a long tail tipped with green seedpod-like objects, a mushroom atop his head like a wide-brimmed hat. The Corrupted Moltres prepared to attack, but Breloom blitzed forward, arm extending in a Mach Punch that stunned the bird and knocked it back. He then followed with a point-blank Sky Uppercut that sent the bird reeling, knocking it into the air, where it took a direct hit from Cure Twinkle's Meteor Humming barrage.

The corrupted Legendary's flaming dark aura surged around it, blazing with Darkness and fury. It started firing Flamethrowers and Air Slashes like mad, the heroes dodging and shielding. Honedge used Shadow Sneak to get in close and then landed a Slash across the dark Moltres' back, and then a wave of Light Arrows from Kanata hammered into the firebird from the sides. Teana formed two Shadow Clones, each one helping her gather and shape energy in one of her hands. Cure Twinkle formed a Full-Moon Humming barrier and used it as a battering ram to bash the Corrupted Moltres over to directly above Cure Mermaid, letting her blast it with a Mermaid Ripple, knocking it into the air and badly damaging it. Then, Teana came in from above with a Fire Release Rasengan in one hand and a Wind Release one in the other. She slammed them both down into the Corrupted Moltres' midsection, a spiraling blast of tearing wind and roaring flame sending the bird rocketing down into the ground with stone-shattering force. The corrupted bird growled as it tried to struggle to its feet… and didn't notice what Flora, Mermaid, & Twinkle were doing until it was too late:

"PreCure: Trinity Explosion!"

The powerful rainbow-hued blast of purifying magic crashed into the corrupted Legendary, enveloping it in light. When the light faded, the Moltres was back to its normal self, yellow plumage with red & white flames for a crest, tail, and wing-edges. Teana set down in front of the firebird, her Breloom and Honedge flanking her, and the Moltres looked at her as if inspecting her. Having a suspicion, Teana pulled out an empty Ultra Ball from her Barrier Jacket's subspace-access pocket, holding it up. After a moment, the Moltres nodded. She threw the ball underhand, and as it bopped against the Moltres, the Pokémon vanished into the ball in a burst of light. Falling to the ground, the ball rocked back & forth a few times, and then chimed as the central button flashed softly.

'I have a Legendary…' Teana thought, as if still not entirely believing it. 'A 'Tier-2' Legendary, but… still…'

A shimmering doorway appeared from thin air nearby, opening to reveal Yumegahama. Cure Flora smiled.

"Let's go home, everyone."

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

About two days later, while Prince Kanata headed back to the remnants of Hope Kingdom to look into something (he wouldn't say what), Yui decided to enter an art contest hosted by the local museum (while Shamour gave the girls cooking lessons, and the gang discovered that Teana was _already_ a passible cook thanks to learning how to take care of herself and the cooking-inept Subaru when they were younger). However, she was unable to find her muse, and her inability to give form to her wishes led her to fall into a slump, losing faith in herself. While wandering around campus, though, she came across Principal Mochizuki holding an art class for some children, and the wise old woman helped Yui remember how important it was to enjoy drawing things.

Then, however, Stop & Freeze showed up, and when Yui tried to stop them from making any Zetsuborgs out of the children, they made one out of _her_ instead, despite the fact that she managed to fight back against the attempt so hard that the evil twins had to use their combined full power to yank her dream out and monster-fy it.

Teana & the Cures showed up soon after, and had to work a little to convince the Principal to leave things to them, having to give her a bare-bones explanation ("We're warriors of the Light, empowered to stand against the forces of Darkness who seek to devour everyone's dreams and turn them into an army of monsters") to convince her they could handle things. Yui's third Zetsuborg proved to be quite powerful due to how much Dark magic Stop & Freeze put into making it, beating the girls around and nearly knocking Teana's Honedge out with one direct hit (though he managed to deal some damage of his own with a Fury Cutter barrage).

But then, Yui managed to regain her awareness, seeing through the Zetsuborg's eyes, remembering everything she and the Cures had been through together, and deciding she finally had something she wanted to draw, something only she could draw. She struggled and fought to regain full consciousness, dramatically weakening the Zetsuborg, allowing the Cures to cleanse it and free her, sending the Zetsu-Twins retreating in disbelief. Afterwards, she drew a beautiful picture of the four Cures in their Elegant Royal forms and submitted it to the museum's contest, where it was a big hit.

A major fashion show in New York was coming up, and Kirara got invited to be in it, to her and the others' delight; this would bring her a big step closer to her dream to be a world-renowned top model. For the days leading up to this, Kirara was partnered with a new, young model named Rin to act as Kirara's assistant, and she quickly learned how one of her magazines had inspired the girl when she was lost in self-doubt a few years back.

On the day Kirara was supposed to leave, however, right when they were outside the airport, Stop & Freeze showed up and made a Zetsuborg out of Rin's dream. Despite the fact that it meant missing her flight, Kirara stayed to fight, transforming and battling alongside the others. The Zetsuborg proved rather powerful, but Cure Twinkle's strong desire to protect Rin's dream allowed her to awaken a new attack: Galaxy Chorus, bombarding the monster with a barrage of huge star-shaped magic blasts (basically her Meteor Humming up-sized and with the power cranked up to 11), leaving it open to purification. As Kirara helped Rin out of the Despair Cage and de-transformed…

"So that's why…"

The girls turned in shock at the sudden voice, and Kirara went pale as she saw not only Tachi Kyoko, her agent, but also Bauanne Baurollo!

"When you… didn't show up," Ms. Tachi said, still stunned, "I came looking for you. Mr. Bauanne had just came off his flight, ran into me, and decided to help. To think that the reason you're always so in a hurry, Kirara-chan, is… _this_?"

"U… U-Um…"

Bauanne held a hand to his chin. "…Surely, fulfilling one's commitments as a model, showing up on time and being willing & able to travel, is very important. But… Your duties as a magical girl, as a warrior of the light protecting people from the darkness, lighting the way for the people's dreams… That is also a very, very important thing!" He smiled. "And whether on the runway or the battlefield, I can see how wonderfully you sparkle and shine, Star Princess!"

Tachi let out a sigh. "We'll… come up with something – tell our people in New York that you twisted your ankle or came down with influenza or something, and couldn't come…"

"…I thought… that if I gave 200%, I could balance the roles of a model… and of a Pretty Cure. …But… My duties kept me from… following my one chance at my dream, my one chance to be as famous as my mother. …You two won't have to worry about my schedule and my duties conflicting anymore. I'm suspending my modeling career."

The whole group gasped; even the usually-reserved Bauanne and Teana looked very shocked.

"K- Kirara-chan?!" Haruka shouted. "But… But your dream… it's everything to you!"

"You'd sacrifice what you've worked towards since childhood for the sake of your duties as a Princess PreCure?" Towa asked.

"But… How can one who fights to protect the dreams of others not have a dream of her own?" Bauanne asked.

"I've _tried_ to do both" Kirara replied. "But it's obviously not going to work out. I'm sorry… but it looks like I have to give up my dream to be able to protect the world."

- _Break_ -

The next day, back at Noble Academy, Kirara seemed to be treating everything more flippantly, and those who knew her could see the fakeness in her smile. Desperate to think of something, anything they could do, Haruka looked up at the stars that night… and inspiration struck. She brought the idea to Yui, to Bauanne, and to the Principal, and they were all delighted by it (Bauanne: "It is as your comrades said; you, my dear, are the center of the team – the blooming flower of hope that guides them toward a shining future! Miss Kirara is truly blessed to have you as a friend!")

The next day after that, Kirara was surprised to be invited to the academy's auditorium, where the rest of the gang had collaborated with other students to set up an impromptu fashion show themed on everyone's dreams. When Haruka, Minami, and Yui spoke with Kirara as the show continued, they finally managed to get through to her, to reignite her passion for her dream to be a top model. Armed with that, she took to the stage, to roaring applause.

"I think you will be pleased to learn of our latest idea," Bauanne greeted Kirara behind the stage after her turn on the runway, "my Star Princess."

"I've mentioned how the alliance I'm part of has lots of high tech and magic, right?" Teana asked. "We can easily set up jump-gates that can connect across intercontinental distances, letting someone be teleported from one side of the world to the other in less than half a minute." She grinned. "That should definitely come in handy next Spring, if you choose to accompany Mr. Bauanne to Paris and be the star model for the new line of clothing he's designing."

Kirara's eyes widened. "M… Me?"

"Who else, my dear?" the fashion designer smiled. "I can think of no-one better to introduce my newest works to the world, once they are complete. And as this sunset-haired young lady says, her allies' technology will enable you to cross between my home there and yours here with ease – you won't even have to leave your Noble education and your friends behind, and Cure Twinkle will still be able to protect the citizens of Yumegahama alongside her dear comrades! Aah~, even though I must keep it secret from the masses, knowing that magic exists makes the whole world seem even more beautiful!"

Suddenly, Puff ran in. "Something big's coming!" she shouted to the girls. "A high-level Zetsuborg has appeared, near the Academy's beach!"

Mr. Bauanne's expression became serious. "Leave things here to us, girls" he said. "Go save the day again."

The four Cures and Teana took off, heading to the beach, to find another of Dyspear's Zetsuborgs there, in the form of a huge golden-scaled Eastern-style dragon. They transformed, and Teana – sensing the power this monster had – sent out all three of her Pokémon. The girls leapt at the dragon-Zetsuborg, which exhaled a cluster of lightning bolts at them; Mermaid & Scarlet formed a shield to protect Flora, Twinkle, & Teana, while Moltres dodged the bolts and flew forward while carrying Honedge in her talons, exhaling a Flamethrower at the Zetsuborg's mask-like face and then throwing the ghostly sword Pokémon forward. Honedge's blade glowed black with a Night Slash, the strike severing the tip of one of the monster's horns.

The dragon-Zetsuborg exhaled a stream of multicolored flames, but Teana used _Fūton: Daitoppa_ to blow the fires away, leaving the monster open to Lys Tourbillon and Scarlet Flame attacks. The Zetsuborg reeled… or rather, it pretended to be hurt worse than it was, so that when Cure Mermaid went for a follow-up attack, its sudden tail strike caught her off-guard, knocking her back to slam into a tree. It then fired an explosive flame-blast at her, but Teana's Breloom fired an Energy Ball that hit the enemy attack in midair, setting it off prematurely.

The whole gang flung attacks and charged in their wake, and the Zetsuborg blasted at them with lightning again… only for Cure Twinkle to launch herself up using a Full-Moon Humming barrier as a platform, while the illusions of the others Teana had conjured dissolved. Cure Twinkle then kicked her barrier at the dragon-Zetsuborg, slamming into its chest and stunning it, and then used Galaxy Chorus to bombard and destroy its body, leaving just the evil-looking mask-head floating there. The girls then hit it with a purifying finisher, ending the battle.

Then, the Royal Key began to glow with golden light. Cure Twinkle slotted it into her Princess Perfume, and the girls were all teleported into the Hope Kingdom's realm, being deposited at the foot of the vine-entangled Star Castle. Twinkle slotted her four Keys into the Princess Palace, and a pulse of light enveloped the castle, obliterating the surrounding Despair Vines and restoring Hope Kingdom's starry night sky.

- _Break_ -

As the weather started getting cool, Minami's doubts and worries about what path to take in her future built to a head, leaving her distracted and morose. Unfortunately, this meant that when Shut used the teacher Ms. Zama to make a Zetsuborg, Cure Mermaid was slower and weaker than she should be, enabling the Zetsuborg to beat her around. However, Cure Twinkle and the others were able to convince her that it was alright for someone's dream to change, that she shouldn't fight against what her heart wanted, and that no matter what path she chose they would support her every step of the way. Her restored confidence let her awaken a new attack, Coral Maelstrom, easily battering the Zetsuborg around so the team could finish it off.

Then, of course, came the hard part for Minami: figuring out how to tell her parents that she had a new dream, one that didn't involve working in the family company. After some deliberation, and some encouragement from her friends, she decided to get it over with, calling her older brother to come pick her up.

When she stepped outside to wait, however, Shut appeared with a turtle-themed Zetsuborg, extra-strength with Dyspear's power. Fueled by desperation from knowing this was his last chance, Shut was going all-out; he even dragged Cure Mermaid through a rift into the Hope Kingdom's realm to give his monster a home-turf advantage, ending up outside the ruined and vine-choked Sea Palace, surrounded by a tainted sea.

However, the other Cures managed to cross over using the Royal Key, they and Kanata coming to Mermaid's aid. The turtle-Zetsuborg proved strong enough to smack the girls around for a while, but the desire to follow her dream, no matter what stood in her way, gave Mermaid the strength to overpower the monster's attack and then destroy its body with Coral Maelstrom, letting the team finish the head off while Shut fled in panic. Then, her Coral Key glowed, and she used her Keys to cleanse & reawaken the Sea Palace, purifying Hope Kingdom's ocean.

The morning after a snowfall deposited a coat of white all over Noble Academy, the girls began an ambitious project to create Hope Kingdom Castle out of snow. As they went on, some students caught wind of it, joined in to help, and started spreading the word. As time went on, more and more people came to help, and in the end the castle was complete in all its sparkly, frozen glory.

When everyone was heading back to the dorms, though, Towa realized she'd left her gloves by the snow-castle, and hurried back to get them. She got there just as Shut showed up, broken inside and wandering aimlessly. Blaming her for setting him on the path to despair and ruin, he attacked her in a rage, his opening shot slicing the top off the snow-castle. It wasn't long before Flora, Mermaid, Twinkle, and Teana came to Scarlet's aid, overcoming Shut's attempt to blast them all and blowing him away into the nearby forest, moving in pursuit. But they got an unwelcome surprise when they caught up to him.

"I've lost _everything_ … Lock looked down on me; Close mocks and abuses me, even Queen Dyspear has given up on me, wants my _head_ for my failures…" Shut was transforming – his hat fallen away, his ears lengthening and becoming furrier, his teeth turning into an enlarged maw full of fangs as his eyeliner became jagged stripes across his cheeks, a tail of matted yellow fur sprouting from his lower back, his long fingernails lengthening further and turning into black claws, his pupils becoming slits as the whites of his eyes turned green, glaring at Cure Scarlet. "If you hadn't shown up… none of this would've happened!"

He fired a massive dark energy blast at her, but Teana stepped into its path and formed a Stage-0 _Susanō_ arm with a sword, swinging the weapon at the incoming attack. The dark blast was deflected, but the blade snapped in two from the strain, dispelling. Shut then charged on all fours, claws glowing with red & black Darkness power. The girls quickly learned not to try blocking his attacks; they had so much power that even blocking hurt them and knocked them back. They danced around his strikes, avoiding the blasts & slicing waves he threw at them and trying to land counter-strikes.

"You call yourselves 'strong, kind, and beautiful'," he snarled, "but I'm the only beautiful one around here! Beauty is all I have _left_!"

"What the hell are you saying, calling yourself beautiful?!" Teana shouted. " _Look_ at yourself, man! Look at what you've devolved into!"

Cure Mermaid used Frozen Ripple to form a reflective block of ice in front of Shut. Seeing his current state, he gasped in horror, staggering back and clutching at his face.

"You've done this to yourself, Shut" Cure Scarlet declared. "The people of DysDark drove you this far, but you were the one who took that final step. Now, stand down."

The man's head hung low, and his body shook with soft laughter. It was the laughter of someone who was finally broken. Then, the dark aura around him began to grow and seethe.

"The people of DysDark are... ugly inside and out. This world and everything in it is ugly. And…" he looked up, a broken smile on his fanged face, tears streaming from his eyes. "And _I_ am the most hideous of all! So be it! I will destroy all that is ugly… starting with _myself!-!_ "

An explosion of Dark power engulfed him, the silhouette of his body visible growing and changing within.

"Is he powering up?" Puff asked, worried. "Absorbing despair energy from somewhere?"

"No…" Shamour answered, looking at the roiling shell of Darkness with pity. "That's all coming from him. Shut has… succumbed completely to his despair."

As Teana & the Cures took that in, they saw as the shell of Darkness burst, to reveal a terrifying monster. Shut had transformed into a massive, mountain lion-like beast, beige fur fading to grey, blue-lined eyes glowing red, a mouth full of huge, red-tipped fangs letting out a bestial growl. The matted fur of his back and tail were formed into large, deadly backward-sloping spikes, and the snow beneath his paws began to melt and evaporate from the flame-like black aura around him. The monster threw its head back and let out a deep, deafening roar.

"…Girls" Cure Flora spoke. "Let's save him."

The other Cures nodded, followed by Teana.

"He's lost in a pit of darkness and despair" the redhead agreed. "…Let's pull him out."

"Easier said than done…" Aroma murmured, trembling from how much power he was sensing.

The feline monster opened its fanged maw wide and spat out a fiery blast of Darkness, and then charged right behind it. A Scarlet Illusion managed to just barely withstand the flaming ball of dark power, but the beast swung its head sideways as a hammer, its fangs slashing at the girls as it sent them flying. Teana recovered first, firing a wave of 23 Fire-type _Sagitta Magica_ at Shut's beast form, but as they crashed into its hide they barely did anything. The monster fired a continuous, tightened 'beam' of flame that swept across, felling a few trees as Teana leapt high to dodge.

Cures Flora & Twinkle attacked from the sides, firing Rose Tourbillon and Meteor Humming and then charging in their attacks' wake. The cat-beast snarled as the magic blasts hit it, followed by the girls unleashing a storm of physical strikes, and it shrugged off the pain and knocked them both away with a spinning strike from its tail, the fur-spikes dealing shredding damage that the girls' magical outfits barely managed to convert into magic damage instead of ripping them open. A barrage of icicles from Cure Mermaid and a cutting wave of flame from Cure Scarlet were joined by a _Shinkū Renpa_ barrage from Teana, but the monster roared out to release a shockwave and barrier that deflected the attacks.

The spikes of fur along Beast-Shut's back stuck up and glowed red, and then released a wave of multiple large 'spears' of red & black Darkness, curving up and through the air to lock onto the five heroines. Teana used _ki_ blasts to destroy the ones coming at her, Cure Twinkle formed a Full-Moon Humming barrier to protect herself, and Cure Mermaid froze the ones aimed at her, but Cures Flora & Scarlet took a few hits, being knocked down and caught by their comrades before they could hit the ground. Teana charged and fired a Phantom Blaze at Beast-Shut, who braced himself and took the attack head-on, being shoved back a few meters but weathering the storm, returning fire with a dark-flame ball that blasted Tia back and into a tree.

A Scarlet Prominence engulfed the feline monster, but the beast roared as it powered through the flames and charged at Cure Scarlet, forcing her to hastily get out of the way. A 'Twinkle Humming' smacked it upside the head, and it snarled and swung its deadly claws at Cure Twinkle, who barely avoided getting her throat slashed open as she let herself fall backwards to dodge and then quickly scampered out of the beast's range. Cure Flora came down with a heel-drop wreathed in pink magical power aimed at the monster's back, but the monster shrugged off the hit and sent her flying with a tail-strike before she could recover. Cure Mermaid formed a compressed mass of Water that Teana used a rune to accelerate, firing it at Beast-Shut. The catlike monster growled as it was shoved back, but showed little damage as it shook itself off and then fired another explosive dark-fire blast at the girls.

The fight went on like this for a little while longer, the feline monster showing little effect from the girls' attacks and sending them reeling with its own. As Teana set down along the battlefield's edge, she tried to think.

'We need to hit him with something _big_ to weaken him enough for a purifying finisher. My new technique is still too unstable, though; I can't get it to work right yet. Guess I'll have to go with an old favorite…'

"Girls," she told the Cures as they came in near her, "I think I have an attack that can put him down for the count. But it's going to take me a while to charge it up, and I'll be vulnerable until it's ready. Can you keep him off me until I'm done?"

"Of course" Cure Flora replied. "Do what you've gotta do, Teana-san."

The redhead nodded, sent out her three Pokémon to help the Cures fight, and then held Cross Mirage out in front. "Gather, light of the stars!"

As a Midchildan rune-circle appeared beneath her, motes of twinkling orange light began to rapidly form and merge together in front of her, forming a sphere of glowing magical power that started steadily growing. As Cures went off to fight, Teana focused all her attention on charging her attack. She frowned, trying to will the ambient magical energy to come together faster. At this rate, she might not be able to… Suddenly, it sped up, and motes of golden light joined the orange. Teana turned her head, and was surprised to see Cure Twinkle standing beside her, hands held out beside hers; the Star-themed magical girl gave her a grin & a wink, and Teana nodded.

"Combining the user's magical energy, the world's natural raw mana, and the cast-off residual magic from earlier attacks, all into a single mass of destructive Light-magic power…" Shamour murmured as she observed. "Amazing…"

Flora & Scarlet combined their magics to fire a wave of slicing, burning petals at Beast-Shut, forcing the monster to shield its face. Cure Mermaid and Honedge used the chance to combine their powers for a barrage of razor-sharp ice slivers, while Breloom hit the beast in the side with a Force Palm, and Moltres tossed a Flamethrower into the mix. The beast flinched under the attacks, and then roared and fired a sweeping 'beam' of flame that forced everyone back, Moltres and Flora being grazed by it but quickly recovering.

Beast-Shut charged at Cure Scarlet with startling speed, and she only managed to jump back quick enough to mitigate the damage from the tackle, not avoid it completely. The monster then fired another dark-fire blast at Cure Flora and Breloom, but Moltres swooped in using Agility and pulled them out of the way; the two then fired a Lys Tourbillon and Bullet Seed barrage at the beast, which snarled as it powered through the hits and came at them with fangs bared, only to smack into an ice wall conjured by Cure Mermaid.

There was a continuous, low ringing sound, like a massive bell's toll stretched out, from the now-huge mass of orange & yellow energy held in front of Teana and Cure Twinkle. At first frozen in shock at how much power they'd gathered, Cure Flora quickly recovered and signaled to the others, and they nodded and moved to finish up. A Coral Maelstrom from Cure Mermaid washed Beast-Shut back, dolphin-shaped masses of Water magic slamming into its side while coral stabbed at its flanks. Honedge's Night Slash across the monster's face made it stagger back, and then it was hammered in the side by a mixture of Cure Flora's Floral Tourbillon and Moltres' Fire Spin. Finally, Teana's right hand and Cure Twinkle's left clasped together, pulling back to set their attack free as they called out:

" _PreCure: Starlight Breaker!-!_ "

They 'punched' the mass of Light, which then released as an _enormous_ beam of raw magical power. The attack roared out as it slammed into Beast-Shut, engulfing the monster in a tremendous explosion-wave of energy. The magic kept going, obliterating a sizable line of trees and carving a trench in the earth. Finally, it curved upward and shot up into space. When the light faded, Beast-Shut was growling weakly, the red glow of his eyes dimmed, barely on his feet.

Now, the four Cures made their move, coming together and entering their Mode Elegant Royal forms. A massive crystalline castle appeared behind the monster, a glimmering light from within it becoming a pillar of light that enveloped and restrained the beast. The girls soared high, forming and flying through an enormous crown symbol and then a series of four red, yellow, blue, and pink runes, diving down towards their target while wreathed in Light power:

" _PreCure: Grand Printemps!-!_ "

They crashed down into Beast-Shut, and their contrail split into four beautiful ribbons of light spread out like a flower opening, while the shockwave made flowers bloom all around. As the beautiful light faded, Shut lay in the resulting crater in the snow, returned to his normal form. He stirred as Cure Scarlet came up and knelt down in front of him.

"Twilight…" he muttered.

"'Twilight' was a cold and lonely girl" Cure Scarlet replied. "When I was under Dyspear's control, I thought being 'noble, sublime, and beautiful' was all the mattered. I had no-one, and my heart was frozen. But since I was saved from that Darkness, I've learned so many things, experienced so many warm feelings, learned that true beauty comes from grace, kindness, and strength of heart. I was able to change, and grow, and become so much more than what I used to be. …We can help you grow too, Shut. Let me help you find true inner beauty…"

Shut stared at Scarlet's offered hand for a moment, then cast his gaze away and got to his feet, turning and walking away through the snow, stopping only to retrieve his hat. The girls watched sadly as he disappeared into the forest. They headed back to the Academy, passing by their snow-castle… and saw that it had been repaired, the air around it still carrying a trace of Shut's restorative magic.

"Let's head back inside, girls" Haruka said. "It's pretty chilly out here." 'And yet, my heart feels warm…'

 **-** ** _CHAPTER END_** **-**

Next Time: the finale of the _Go Princess_ arc, as Dyspear and Close set their endgame in motion.


	14. Go Princess 4

**PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** ** _CHAPTER START_** **-**

 **Realm PC-9**

A couple of days later, Prince Kanata called the group over to Hope Kingdom, where they found that the final castle, the Flower Castle, was cleansed of its vines but had not revived, and the vines surrounding the castle still choked the land. Suddenly, Haruka took off running toward the castle, as if chasing something, and she somehow disappeared through the closed doors, disappearing into the structure. As the other girls and Kanata tried to get in, Dyspear's phantom appeared, revealing that within the castle, Haruka was trapped in a genjutsu of her 'ideal world', and then summoning a butterfly-themed Zetsuborg to deal with them.

Being one of Dyspear's personal creations, the monster proved a tough opponent, its spiked tendrils soon managing to catch and restrain the group. Just when Teana was about to summon _Susanō_ or go Super to break free, however, Cure Flora emerged from the castle's sigil, with Close right behind her, engaging her in a hectic duel. Close managed to gain the upper hand, forcing Cure Flora down and overpowering her, stating that her dream was something she could never reach, something that would weigh her down, something that she would never be able to stop chasing.

In response, Flora decreed that a dream that never ended was exactly what she wanted. Like the flowers blooming across the world, she would be strong, kind, and beautiful, dancing in the wind, always reviving and blooming anew no matter what came her way. Her conviction awoke her newest attack, Sakura Turbulence, which she used to destroy the butterfly-Zetsuborg's body so the team could finish off its core.

As Close, Stop, & Freeze retreated, Cure Flora awoke the Flower Castle. The four castles' energies combined to completely cleanse Hope Kingdom of darkness, destroying Dyspear's thorny castle and restoring the land to its full, true beauty. All that remained was to find a way to open the Door of Despair and free the captive souls of the kingdom's people. The girls de-transformed, looking up at the big purple double-doors floating up in the sky.

" _Well done, PreCure_ " Dyspear's voice rang out, her eyes appearing before them in the sky. " _Very well. I shall return Hope Kingdom to you. But, know that despair never truly ends…_ "

As Dyspear's energy vanished, the gang tried to think of what she might do next… and then Haruka went pale with horror as she figured it out.

"W-We have to get back…" she said. "We have to get back to Noble Academy _now!-!_ "

Quickly, they formed a portal-doorway that brought them back to the Academy, only to discover Haruka's worst fear realized: the skies overhead were choked with brownish clouds swirling above the academy, while the building itself was completely obscured beneath a towering field of thorns with a huge blood-red flower at the top. Dyspear's silhouette appeared from the clouds, towering over the confused and frightened staff & students.

" _Humans…_ " Dyspear's voice rang out with disdain and scorn. " _This world shall belong to me. Your despair will be transformed into power!_ "

"Not on our watch" Haruka declared, walking forward, shrugging off Yuuki's attempt to grab her. Minami, Kirara, Towa, and Teana followed, the five girls standing together. "Secrecy's been thrown out the window by this, girls. Let's go!"

The girls were enveloped in colorful light, and the academy students & teachers were shocked as Cures Flora, Mermaid, Twinkle, and Scarlet appeared before them.

"The fighting princesses…" Principal Mochizuki murmured.

"Ha… Haruka is Flora?!" Yuuki's jaw dropped.

"They are the Princess Pretty Cures," Teana told the audience, "magical girls who wield the power of Light to fight against DysDark, the forces of darkness led by the Witch Queen Dyspear who seek to devour everyone's dreams and turn them into despair and power. I, meanwhile, am from another Realm; heroes from several universes have banded together to fight against Dark forces across the Realms and protect the innocent lives they threaten. I came to ask the Princess Cures if they'd like to join, and to help them against DysDark." She glanced back at the team's noncombatant. "Nanase Yui-chan got involved in things a few months ago; she can give you the details. Right now, though… We have a witch to burn."

The girls took off, Prince Kanata and the fairies following close behind, as Yui got to the task of giving backstory to the civilians. As they neared the academy gates, Stop & Freeze tried to bar their path, but Prince Kanata and Shamour stayed to handle them, letting the girls continue on. As they reached the base of the tower, Close appeared.

"Game over, girls" he smirked. "You aren't getting any further. Now, why don't say hello to an old friend?"

He pulled out a tiny, ragged coat and tossed it down, and it rapidly grew into a huge, ragged animated hooded cloak, with red bat-wings and a pair of bloodshot red eyes atop the hood. The clothing-beast reared up, letting out a raspy growl.

"That's… Lock?" Cure Twinkle stared. "They revived him?"

"Now, Lock, crush the Pretty Cures!"

"yEs…" the monster hissed. "For… DyspeAr-saMa's sakE… CruSh the PrECure…"

"Something's wrong" Cure Scarlet said. "He's being controlled…"

With a snarl, the revived & controlled Lock swung his 'arm' down at the girls, who barely scattered in time to avoid being crushed down into the vine-covered earth. Teana and Scarlet fired a _Gōkakyū_ and a Scarlet Flame at the monster, blasting him backward to smack into the vine-tower but not doing much damage. He retaliated by blasting out a wave of Darkness-tainted wind at Cures Mermaid and Flora, but Cure Twinkle used a Full-Moon Humming barrier to shield them, the moon-shaped shield coming away cracked. She then kicked the damaged shield at Lock, smacking him in the 'face' and nearly knocking him over.

"Looks like Lock needs a boost…" Close remarked. "…Ah. _There's_ something I can use…"

He teleported out, appearing above the group of Noble Academy students. He tossed out a handful of 'Despair Seeds', and upon landing they instantly sprouted into black vines that engulfed the whole group, trapping them in Despair Cages; Yui fought back, and almost managed to break free and avoid being caged, but ultimately succumbed as well. The 'despair energy' from the various trapped people flowed into Lock, making him grow in size and power considerably.

Now, as Cure Flora fired a Lys Tourbillon at Lock, the coat-monster didn't even flinch. The beast swung his massive arm to release a mighty gust of wind that blew the five heroes back, and then tried to crush them with his other limb, knocking them around. They all fired some of their high-level attacks – Trinity Lumiere, Phoenix Blaze, and a Divine Buster – at Lock, pushing him back at first, but then his black aura seethed and surged, and with a roar he bashed the attacks away. Then, his gaping black maw opened wide as a mass of Dark power rapidly charged up, firing as a massive destructive blast. The four Cures put everything they had into a barrier, straining as Lock's attack pushed against it, pushing them beyond their limit, their Princess weapons about to break…

" _Amaterasu_!"

A burst of jet-black fire suddenly engulfed the energy ball Lock had fired, rapidly spreading. The blast was quickly enveloped and devoured by the Conceptual fire, vanishing from existence. The Cures and Close looked in surprise as Teana stepped forward, her eyes reverting to normal.

"I suppose it's about time I go all-out, then" she declared. "I'll use my full power to help the Cures beat you both."

After a moment, Close laughed. "Full power? Nice try, Princess, but your bluff won't work; I can sense people's energy, and I can tell that you've been fighting at your max for a while now."

Teana allowed herself a little smirk. "The maximum of my base form, yes. But I've got another level I can use. …I've mentioned to you all my paternal lineage, right? How my father was the first prince of a kingdom of proud and brave warriors, who were wiped out leaving nobody left but a spec-ops soldier's son and my uncle, the second prince…" The ground beneath her began to rumble, rocks and debris cracking loose and floating upward. "I never did say what my father's kingdom was called. Though perhaps, when you learn the name of his little brother, you'll understand just who and what I am!" Her crimson aura flared to life around her. "My uncle's name… is _Vegeta!-!_ "

The earth shook as she let out a rising _kiai_ , her aura surging and crackling. Then, with a burst of shining golden light, she transformed – her eyes became a pupiless teal, while her long red-orange hair turned golden-yellow and separated into a mane of spiky locks, her bangs curling up and forward like claws. The Cures were in complete and utter shock.

"N-No way…" Cure Twinkle gasped out. "Tia's a… a _Saiyan Princess?!_ "

'What the hell is this huge power?!' Close thought. 'It's only a hair below the Cures' Royal-form attack, but sustained and continuous rather than in a single burst!'

"Time for you two to learn what happens when you threaten a Super Saiyan's friends…" Teana declared. She then fired a golden _ki_ blast at the supercharged Lock, who cried out as he was blasted back with great force, his tattered coat-body being damaged even further. Close charged at her, powering himself up with 'Despair Energy', and their fists met with a shockwave like booming thunder. They took off, purple and gold comets streaking through the air and crashing into each other repeatedly, blasts of magic and _ki_ flying between them. Teana soon got the upper hand, grabbing Close by the leg, swinging him around and throwing him down at the ground with great force; the earth shook as he crashed into it, forming a crater. Lock tried to attack the Cures while they were distracted, but a barrage of SS-charged Crossfire Shot bolts hammered into him, snapping the girls out of their amazed stupor and getting them to leap back into the fight.

Suddenly, Lock began to shrink and weaken. Teana glanced over at where the students were trapped, and saw them all free; all on her own, Yui had broken free from her Despair Cage and then helped everyone else do the same. Close aimed at the Cures, trying to hit them while they were distracted, and Teana streaked down to intercept. She couldn't manage to stop him from charging and firing a high-level energy blast at them… but then a new figure appeared and sliced the blast in two.

"Shut?!" Close shouted, in shock. "What the hell are you do-OOF!"

Teana's kick hit Close mid-back, and then Shut dashed in with a crushing punch that sent the punk-looking DysDark General flying.

"What's wrong with you, Lock?!" he shouted at the snarling, twisted monster his former comrade had become. "Where's your high & mighty self now?! You've let Dyspear reduce you to a broken shell! Don't you remember your goals?!"

"mY… goaLs…"

"What are you doing, you traitor?!" Close shouted.

"You can't see it, Close? All this time, the PreCures, the humans, have all changed and grown. To survive, we need to do the same. We need to break free of Dyspear's reign!"

Enraged, Close fired a powerful energy blast at Shut, but the young Super Saiyan appeared and swatted it up & away. Teana then turned to the girls. "Take care of Lock, you girls!"

"Save him from the madness and pain he's trapped in!" Shut added.

Cure Flora nodded, and then she & her teammates brought out the Princess Palace and the Royal Key. They assumed their Elegant Royal forms, trapping the tattered monster Lock in a pillar of light, and then dove down at him with Grand Printemps. The resulting blast of rainbow-hued power sent a pulse through the area, forcing the despair vines to partially recede, coiling back around the main spire. Lock's tattered cloak, back to normal size and form, floated limply down to the ground; Kuroro cautiously floated over to it, pity in the cat-fairy's eyes.

"This can't be happening…" Close snarled. "How _dare_ you? … _How dare you?!_ "

He charged at the group, not sure whether to try to kill Shut or Flora first. However, Teana intercepted it, and Close barely had time to notice where the Super Saiyan's hand was before she fired a point-blank _ki_ blast that blew a hole through his midsection and sent him careening off into the distance.

The gang relaxed a little… and then the earth began to shake as enormous dull-green vines started spreading all over. They quickly enveloped the town of Yumegahama, trapping everyone in Despair Cages, the despair energy from them being drawn in and increasing the power of Dyspear and her vines, allowing them to spread farther and faster. This set off a feedback loop, a chain reaction that rapidly spread farther and faster. The heroines were horrified as, before long, the entire _planet_ was engulfed in Despair Vines, all the energy from the captured being flowing in.

Now, the top of the despair-vine tower shifted in form, growing and changing, until finally forming into Queen Dyspear, towering over all, her mask gone to reveal green eyes with glowing red sclera.

"IT'S OVER" her imposing contralto rang out. "THIS WORLD IS NOW _MINE_. DESPAIR CONQUERS _ALL!_ "

"…Not yet" Cure Flora replied. "You haven't won yet; we're still here!"

"If you think we're gonna give up just because you've made yourself bigger by absorbing people's negative energy," Teana added, "you've got another thing coming!"

"One more time, girls! Let's finish this war!"

A mass of Dark power began to accumulate and charge in front of the keyhole-mark on Dyspear's chest. Cure Flora used Sakura Turbulence, releasing a tightly-focused wave of glowing pink 'petals' of magic that slammed into Dyspear's beam just as it fired, struggling against it. Mermaid, Twinkle, & Scarlet added their Coral Maelstrom, Galaxy Chorus, and Scarlet Prominence to Flora's attack, and Teana threw in a Galick Gun for good measure. The combined assault began to push Dyspear's attack back… and then the giant demoness smirked, and a shockwave of power nullified the girls' attacks and raced down to hammer the five of them, blowing them back quite some distance. They regained control and set down all the way back by the students & teachers.

"Are… Are you girls okay?" Kisaragi asked.

"We're fine" Cure Twinkle said, a little strained in tone as she held her arm.

"SUCH BRAVADO YOU GIRLS HAVE…" Dyspear sent a horde of 'vine-demons'. "I WILL ENJOY BREAKING THOSE IRON WILLS OF YOURS."

The half-bodied monsters charged en masse, and the five heroines moved to fight them, exchanging blows and blasts. Prince Kanata, Shut, and the three royal fairies joined in, doing what they could to help stem the tide. Several of the fiends melded into an extra-large one, but Teana promptly obliterated it with a _Fūton: Rasengan_. After a little while of this, a barrage of Light Arrows from Kanata and Crossfire Shoot bolts from Teana wiped the remainder out, just as a storm of Darkness blasts from Dyspear rained down on the whole group. Kanata hurriedly conjured a high-level dome barrier of light, which just barely managed to hold against the strike.

The girls charged back into the fray, firing more attacks at Queen Dyspear. The massive demoness simply smirked and let the hits bounce off her, to very little effect. Then, several of the enormous spiked vines sprang to life and swung at the heroines from multiple angles, while a swarm of Darkness blasts were mixed in to catch anyone who dodged the vines. The girls were unable to make it through the swarm of attacks, try as they might, and were battered around viciously. One final blast soared in, and as the girls plummeted to the ground (well, to the vines), the Cures de-transformed, while Teana fell out of her Super Saiyan form, barely keeping her Barrier Jacket online.

"IS THAT TRULY ALL YOU HAVE? …PATHETIC. NOW… ALL SHALL FALL INTO DESPAIR…"

The 'Door to Despair' appeared floated in front of the base of the spire/Dyspear, its massive doors opening wide to release a shadowy miasma. All the Despair Cages containing countless trapped people began floating towards and into the darkness beyond the doors, vanishing into the shadows of despair, which then slammed shut again, to be covered by a swarm of massive vines, out of reach.

"It's… over…?" Haruka murmured weakly.

A lone vine-demon loomed over Haruka, claws bared. It began to descend toward her, only for Puff to fly in with a tackle that knocked it back. Aroma joined in, pecking at the monster's face.

"We're not giving up!" the dog-fairy shouted as she struggled. "After everything Haruka and the girls have done for us, we can't let them fall here! As long as we're still here to fight, we won't let things end like this!"

The monster knocked Puff back, but Kisaragi was there to catch her. "That's right…" the glasses-wearing girl said. "Haruka and the others have done so much for us, protecting our dreams… Now it's our turn."

More and more of the students and staff came forward, putting themselves between the fallen heroines and their great enemy, glaring up defiantly at Dyspear.

"Protecting our and each other's dreams…" Yuuki declared, "is something that we can _all_ do. We will _never_ surrender to the likes of you."

"…FOOLISH."

A wave of vine-demons began to charge at the group of people, ready to tear and rend their way through to get to the Cures. …And then, their desire to protect their dreams and the girls who'd fought for them created a miracle. The combined power of everyone's dreams and determination manifested as a brilliant, shining golden light. The light obliterated the incoming vine-demons, pushed the giant vines back, and healed & revitalized the Cures & Teana. Then, the quartet's Princess Perfumes floated up and sprayed out a rainbow of magic dust/mist, which formed into four arcing pathways of glowing white light, leading to four ornate, shining doors floating in the air.

"I think that's your cue, girls" Teana said with a smile. "Go on; we'll cover you."

Haruka, Minami, Kirara, and Towa nodded and started walking up the light paths. Dyspear's vine-demons tried to attack them, but Kanata and humanoid-form Shamour cast a Light Barrier that repulsed them. The girls' walk began to speed up, and as more vine-demons tried to intervene Teana flew in with Mirage Longswords blazing and hacked them apart. As the quartet started running, one last wave of vine-demons approached, but then Shut slashed them away, joined by an unlikely ally: Kuroro, in human form and wearing Lock, fairy and imp reunited against a common enemy.

Transforming as they reached the doors, the Cures opened them up and leapt through. They shot up into the air, wreathed in golden light, as they underwent a new transformation. Long billowy dresses in white and gold, jewelry and crowns, fur-lined collars, lace gloves, and long golden staffs with red gems within heart-shaped heads, and bottom tips shaped like keys.

"Strong…" Flora decreed.

"Kind…." Mermaid continued.

"And beautiful…" Twinkle added.

"Go!" Scarlet shouted out.

All Four: "Grand Princess!-!"

"This warm feeling…" Twinkle murmured.

"The power is overflowing" Mermaid said.

"Flora… We finally made it!" Scarlet said joyfully, near crying.

"This is… true beauty…" Shut murmured.

"They finally…" Shamour smiled, filled with pride in 'her' girls.

"WHAT IS THIS POWER?"

"…The paths of our dreams shall not lead to despair!" Grand Scarlet decreed.

"The dreams you've locked within a cold cage…" Grand Twinkle gripped her staff.

"We shall reclaim them from you!" Grand Mermaid challenged.

"Queen Dyspear…" Grand Flora made a gesture. "Do prepare yourself!"

Growling, Dyspear fired a torrent of black lighting at the girls. Grand Twinkle raised her staff, and a shimmering galaxy barrier formed and effortlessly deflected the attack. Grand Flora pointed her staff, and a torrent of shimmering golden petals fired out and crashed into Dyspear's chest, the Light magic assailing her. A shining phoenix of golden flames formed at Grand Scarlet's will, launching itself at Dyspear and pushing her back, and then a massive dragon made of crystal-clear water came to life around Grand Mermaid and slammed into the giant witch's body, doing even more Light-type damage.

The witch-queen roared and began to charge up a massive amount of Dark power. In response, the four Grand Princess Cures focused their wills together, and a golden Dress-Up Key took form. They brought their staffs together, holding over the Princess Palace as the Golden Key was slotted into it, and then the shining light built up and released:

" _PreCure: Grand Libération!-!_ "

Just as Dyspear fired her wave of Darkness power, the Cures' attack fired as well, a proportionately thin beam of shining golden energy that lanced out, pierced right through Dyspear's attack like it wasn't even there, and burned clean through the giant witch's chest. Glowing cracks spread out from there across Dyspear's body, and finally she cried out as an explosion of Light magic seemingly tore her apart, her giant body vanishing into a burst of motes of Light. The thorny vines enshrouding the planet were all destroyed in a wave of Light, and the evil clouds overhead were dispelled, revealing the beautiful blue sky.

As the four Grand Princesses descended, the air was filled with hundreds of voices cheering for them, throughout Noble Academy and the surrounding area. Once they touched the ground, they were mobbed with hugs and congratulations.

"Good job, girls" Teana said, still looking a little weak and tired. "Hell of a thing you've pulled off. Just one thing left…"

She glanced up at the Door of Despair, and Grand Flora nodded. She floated back up to the door, pulled out the Gold Dress-Up Key, and slotted it in. The doors swung wide open, and Light shone forth. All the captive people were freed and awakened, deposited back where they'd been snatched from. In the neighboring sub-Realm, Hope Kingdom's people were also restored.

- _Break_ -

The King and Queen of Hope Kingdom came to, supported by Kanata and Shamour. Grand Scarlet set down, and as she ran to them with tears in her eyes, they realized it was a miracle, their lost little girl safe and sound. As the family came together again, the Princess Palace materialized and flew up & out, vanishing in a burst of light and reappearing as the Hope Kingdom castle. The castle then glowed with Light, which then raced out and coalesced in front of the group, forming a new Princess Palace.

"Sir," Cross Mirage spoke up, "I have just received the copy of the DDF archival 'footage' that was supposed to have made the trip back with us."

The redhead sighed. "Better late than never, I suppose."

Suddenly, the whole group was startled as the ghost of the last Cure Flora appeared with a pink flash before them all. Looking at the four Cures, she smiled.

" _Thank you, girls. More than living up to our legacy, you have surpassed it. You have defeated the forces of DysDark, and restored both worlds. However, your work is not yet done, I feel. Your warrior-princess friend and her comrades in other Realms could use the aid of the Princess Pretty Cures in their fight against the forces of Darkness. Will you accept that task?_ "

"Of course" Grand Twinkle nodded. "We'd been meaning to from the start, after all."

"We've got a couple days before we should try to get going" Teana said. "We can take that time to rest, get all the reuniting and talking done, show you girls the background stuff for the DDF… Still, I think it's gonna be smooth sailing for us for a little while."

"We'll all get some rest," Puff said, "and then throw a big party!"

"Better make it two parties," Flora replied, "one for Hope Kingdom and one for Noble Academy.

The group gathered together, celebrating their victory, as the last-gen Cure's ghost smiled and returned to the afterlife.

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

"We lost, didn't we?"

"We lost."

Grumbling at Stop & Freeze's words, Close limped onward. He glanced down at where he'd just barely had enough magic to spare to repair the hole in his torso, and then looked to the side. He had Dyspear-sama's arm draped across his shoulder, the woman looking half-dead on her feet as the quartet advanced aimlessly through the woods.

"I'm sorry I let this happen, Your Highness…" he murmured.

"We couldn't have foreseen this" the woman replied weakly. "For the Princess PreCure to gain such extraordinary power from their supposedly-powerless 'friends'… And then there is that interloper, the warrior princess and her golden transformation…"

"…What do we do now, milady?"

"…I… do not know…"

Suddenly, the quartet stopped as they heard a caw. They looked as a large raven set down atop a branch, looking down at them. It cawed again, and then the remnants of DysDark were surprised as the dark space between trees ahead of and around them was lit by a sudden swirling pillar of green flames…

 **-** ** _CHAPTER END_** **-**

That's it for Part 3 of the fic. The next part, focused on _MahouTsukai PreCure_ , again might take a while, because I'll be starting after the events of episode 22, so I have to watch all those episodes before I can start work on the next chapter.

Also, I intend to soon finally renew my (expired for almost a month-&-a-half due to lack of funds) Norton anti-virus subscription, and I don't know if it might actually prevent me from accessing the site I watch these episodes on. If it does, I might even have to cut _MahouTsukai_ out of the story altogether. We'll have to wait and see…


	15. MahouTsukai 1

Decided to start after Episode 24, rather than the planned 22.

 **PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** ** _CHAPTER START_** **-**

 **Realm PC-10a**

Mirai Asahina, Riko 'Izayoi', Kotoha 'Haa-chan' Hanami, and Mofurun were in the park together, enjoying a lazy summer afternoon. Just yesterday, they had finished turning the Asahina house/shop's attic into a bedroom for Haa-chan, prettying it up with some homemade jewelry as well. Of course, they'd also been worrying a little lately about the return of Yamoh, the assistant to the now-defeated villain Dokuroxy; he had been melded into his master during that final battle, so how had he returned, alive and ready to avenge the dark mage?

"U-Um, hello?"

The three girls looked up, while Mofurun went stiff and pretended to be a regular stuffed bear. There were seven kids, five girls and two boys, all around 10 or 11 in age – a girl with red eyes and long golden-blonde hair with a streak or two of orange in it, a green-eyed girl with black hair down to her upper back, a green-eyed boy with short black hair, a blue-eyed boy with somewhat-spike deep-red hair, a blue-eyed girl with shoulder-length pink hair, a red-eyed girl with long pink hair and two little blue ribbons, and a green-eyed girl with long red hair held in two big pigtails.

"Hi!" Mirai smiled. "Who are you guys?"

"We're looking for some people" the blonde girl replied. "We came to help them deal with a problem they're facing, but we've been having a bit of trouble finding them."

Before Mirai could say anything in response, there was a sudden chill in the warm summer air. Then, several shadowy 'pools' formed on the ground all around the group. The darkness bulged upward, forming into claw-tipped, muscle-toned arms, the limbs' owners soon following. Now, over a dozen Neoshadows surrounded Theta Team and the local group.

"Get back!" Laicixa told the three local girls as she and Erika summoned their Keyblades. "These things are dangerous, but we've dealt with them before. Just stay behind us."

"Damn…" Anya gritted her teeth. "How are we supposed to find and help this world's Pretty Cures if we have to worry about keeping these things contained, too?"

"It's the curse of Keyblade-wielders" Laicixa replied. "The Heartless will keep seeking us out and trying to destroy us so long as Erika and I wield these."

Mirai, Riko, and Haa-chan looked to each other in surprise, and then made their decision. The seven kids of Theta Team were caught by surprise as multicolored lights flashed and swirled behind them, turning in surprise just in time to see Cure Miracle, Cure Magical, and Cure Felice finish their transformations and get ready for battle.

"…Well" Timmy said. "Okay, then. That was easier than I thought."

"We'll explain who we are after we handle these things" Mariko told them, as the Neoshadows began to close in.

A Neoshadow leapt in, claws bared, and Erio moved forward and lashed out with a lightning-charged kick that launched the Heartless back with enough force to destroy it. As if that were the signal, the rest of the Neoshadows charged, and – considering they were up against seven experienced and powerful young fighters (two of them Keybladers) and three Cures – they got thrashed and quickly destroyed.

"So, now that that's out of the way," Cure Miracle said, "who are you guys?"

"Wait" Cure Magical spoke up. "We should find someplace where people are less likely to come across us, _then_ share explanations."

"Good call" Laicixa replied. "You know a place?"

The three Cures de-transformed, and they & the animated teddy-bear led the kids to a quieter section of the park, amidst some trees, where Haa-chan conjured blankets for everyone to sit on. Laicixa cleared her throat, taking the lead in explaining the travelers' side of things.

"We represent the Dimensional Defense Force, a group of civilizations and people with various special powers from across the Realms, banded together to help, teach, and trade with each other, and to protect the multiverse from the forces of Darkness who threaten people and worlds. We already have three universes' Pretty Cure teams with us, and recently detected this world's team and three more worlds' Cures. We came here to help you girls against whatever dark forces you're up against, and ask if maybe you can help us against _our_ foes as well. Consider our enemies' plans could threaten all of Creation…"

"We have access to special… 'footage'," Caro chimed in, "which will show you all the backstory and information you need, all while inside a magic pocket-Realm where only five hours will pass in the outside world even though inside it'll take _days_ to get through everything. And while you're in there, you won't need to eat or drink or sleep or whatever, so you don't have to worry about that kinda interruptions."

"The DDF has a few specialist teams, whose members frequently see action either separate or together. We are Theta Team. I'm Laicixa, the team leader – 'Lai', for short."

"E-Erika" "Timmy" "Erio" "Caro" "Mariko~!" "Anya"

"I'm Mirai!"

"Riko"

"Mofurun!"

"I'm Haa-chan! Er, I mean, Kotoha Hanami."

"Hm?" Anya tilted her head.

"Haa-chan was originally a fairy," Riko admitted, "only about this big. She started out as a baby, then went through a few metamorphoses that ended up with her like this."

"I came up with the name so I could fit in amongst humans…" the pink-haired girl said, a little shy about it.

"What were those key-swords you girls had?" Mofurun asked. "They were _brimming_ with Light magic."

"T-They're called Keyblades" Erika replied. "You'll, ah… u-understand once you've seen t-the footage."

"Why don't we get that done with first," Erio suggested, "and it'll probably answer most of the questions you girls have?"

"Well, we _did_ tell my mom we wouldn't probably be back until evening…" Mirai replied.

"So, have you girls beat your 'Big Bad' yet?" Mariko asked.

"Recently, yeah" Riko replied. "His top henchman is still alive, though, and still creating monsters to send against us as he tries to avenge his master."

Erika and Mariko looked to each other. "H-Have you girls unlocked any big f-flashy group finisher?" the green-eyed girl asked. "Found e-everything you need to find, a-and answered every mystery regarding y-your powers or any of your pasts?"

"…No…" Haa-chan replied. "And, come to think of it, we're not quite sure _how_ Yamoh survived or came back to life or whatever."

"Then sorry to say," Mariko said, "but I think your adventure's not over yet. You've probably got quite a bit more fighting to go before this world is safe." 'Plus, all the _Pretty Cure_ seasons we've seen end around mid-Winter, and it's still Summer here; we've got about a half-series' worth of fights left, I'd guess…'

- _Break_ -

When the 'footage' viewing was over, Riko was thoroughly stunned. Other 'systems' of magic with fundamental differences in construction, incantation, and execution; magic-based artificial intelligences built into high-tech magical weapons; broom-less magic flight like what she & Mirai could do in their Sapphire Forms; ki/chi/chakra, and the things it could do; Keyblades and Heartless, other Pretty Cures, these 'Pokémon' creatures that Mirai got super-excited about, artifacts and powers beyond what she'd ever imagined…

"…We've got to let the Headmaster know" she said. "We have to let him know we have help now. …We have _so_ much help now… Like, whatever's coming, with these kids helping us we've got it in the _bag_ …"

Mirai hurried over to Theta Team. "Can I see your Pokémon?" she clasped her hands to beg, stars in her eyes. " _Pleeeease?_ "

"Lai and I don't have Pokémon yet…" Anya admitted, sounding disappointed.

"We're heading there to pick our partners after this mission" Laicixa put a hand on her shoulder.

Mariko went first, pulling out a Poké Ball and a Luxury Ball and letting out her Starly and her Pichu; the little bird flitted around and set down on Mariko's shoulder, while the juvenile Electric-type stood at her side, looking up at Mirai, Riko, & Haa-chan with a heart-melting smile. Caro went next, sending out her Charmander starter, her Swablu, and the Gible she'd caught just before they left the Poké-world; they gathered around her, though Swablu had to perch on her shoulder since the dragon-whelp Fried was sitting on Caro's head.

Erio tossed out a single Poké-Ball, and his Mareep hopped out and stood by his young trainer. Then, Timmy sent out his two Pokémon partners, his Chimchar standing beside him while his Voltorb rolled around a bit to stretch its nonexistent legs. Lastly, Erika pulled out _five_ Poké-Balls, and let out each member of her team one at a time. Turtwig, Swablu, and Seel popped out first, then Wigglytuff bounced around a bit and waved hello, and finally Kira the Gardevoir emerged, stretching her arms and back a bit and then noticed the local girls, waving and smiling.

"Hi, there~" she greeted, to Mirai's mild surprise; she knew plenty of Psychic-types could 'talk' telepathically, but for this one to know how to speak with her mouth? Maybe she psychically 'copied' the knowledge & skill from her young Trainer's mind…

"Kira-san is pretty much going to be in charge of looking after us while we're here" Mariko explained.

"I've even got a human holo-disguise so I can be out & about with them" the Poké-woman added.

"All Gardevoirs have strong nurturing maternal instincts," Caro said, "but Kira-san's are strong even by her people's standards."

"Um, where are you guys gonna stay?" Mofurun asked. "I don't think Mirai's house has room…"

Anya grinned. "We asked Ms. Bulma from Goku's group if she could lend us, like, a couple of tents or something in a storage capsule. She gave us a little _house_!"

Laicixa pulled the unassuming-looking Capsule Corp capsule out. "It's not much – a small dining area & kitchen, a little den with a couch just big enough that all seven of us could squeeze in together (or six of us and Kira-san holding the seventh in her lap), and a bedroom just big enough to hold three beds, which is fine since we're all used to sharing. We just need to find someplace where a house popping up where there wasn't before won't raise too many eyebrows. Depending on where we end up setting 'camp', we may have to fit it with a Perception-Inhibition magic field…"

"Could any of you teach _us_ that magic?" Riko asked. "Being able to make it harder for mundanes to consciously perceive us when we're flying around or the like would be _really_ useful."

"We'll do what we can, but it's usually done with a bounded field set up to encompass a predetermined area, rather than something a mage can just carry around."

"We should contact the Headmaster soon" Haa-chan said. "He'll want to know about all this."

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

The Headmaster had been shocked nearly speechless once he learned everything, especially that two of the new group's members wielded Keyblades, those legendary weapons of incomparable magical power… Still, he was happy to hear that the Cures now had so much help, and when pressed by Laicixa he admitted to the whole group that Cassie (the spirit that inhabited the crystal balls he & the Cures used) had foreseen a mighty dark power breaking free from its containment to stir up chaos and destruction (Mariko: "Called it"), telling everyone to be on guard.

Theta Team settled in, finding a spot to put their capsule-house and getting to know the local group better. It was quickly uncovered that while Laicixa had her Keyblade Glider and her Barrier Jacket, Erika had her Glider, Timmy was learning ki-based flight, Erio had his staff, Caro had Friedrich, and Mariko had her vector-wings, Anya didn't technically have a method of flight at her disposal – the broom she got from Meriadne Academy couldn't be shrunk down and would thus draw attention if she lugged it around, and so she left it at home and contented herself with solid-magic 'platforms' and with launching herself through the air with Fire magic. Haa-chan decided that simply wouldn't do (and Riko said the Vice-Headmaster would throw a fit if she heard about a young mage doing something so dangerous to get around), and used her magic to create a riding broom for the girl that could be magically shrunken down to keychain-size like hers, Mirai's, and Riko's.

"We really should ask Teana and her friends to teach _all_ of us how to fly unaided when we get back…" Timmy mused.

A couple days later, Mirai's family took her, Riko, Kotoha, and Mirai's two friends Mayumi & Kana to the beach for a day of fun in the sun, with Laicixa discreetly following along. In her efforts to make the day enjoyable for everyone, Haa-chan got a little too crazy with her magic, failing to understand that "don't use magic where people can see" didn't mean she could use blatantly-obvious magic just because nobody was looking at _her_. Poor Mirai & Riko ended up running themselves ragged doing damage-control.

Then, Yamoh lured Kotoha into a nearby cave, trapping her against a Yokubal deep inside. Being told of how her actions meant to help everyone instead caused her two partners trouble, she tried to atone by fighting the monster alone, but was caught off-guard when the Yokubal began using the cave itself as a weapon against her. Fortunately, Cure Miracle & Cure Magical in their Sapphire Forms showed up just in time to bail her out, luring the Yokubal up through the cave roof and to the outside, where Laicixa was transformed and waiting to join in.

As the aerial battle commenced, Laicixa's Lighting-type attacks proved an advantage against the Yokubal's rock-based projectiles and strikes, letting her carve through with little difficulty, opening the way for Miracle & Magical to pummel the monster. Cure Felice's desire to help led her to manifest working wings, letting her take to the air and bash the Yokubal around some more. Finally, Miracle & Magical trapped and weakened it with Sapphire Smartish, allowing Felice to finish it off the Emerald Reincarnation. In the aftermath, Haa-chan apologized for going overboard with her magic, though she used one last spell to make it so everyone could enjoy fresh shaved ice with their lunch.

However, Kotoha ended up feeling haunted by the words Yamoh said to her: "So long as you carry the Emerald, I will keep on pursuing you". She took this to mean that just by being near Mirai, Riko, & Mofurun, she was putting them in danger. And so, after baking a batch of heart-shaped cookies, she snuck out early in the morning… not aware that Mofurun was tailing her. Once Mirai & Riko woke up and found Haa-chan's now-empty room and her note that simply said 'Thank you and goodbye', they immediately set out looking for her and also contacted Theta Team to ask them for help.

Unfortunately, Yamoh found Haa-chan first, turning himself into a huge, draconic Yokubal-monster with a cage-belly and capturing her inside, tainting her Linkle Smartbook with darkness so she couldn't transform (which she already couldn't do anyway because of her conflicted feelings over her decision to run away). Mirai & Riko showed up first, transforming into their standard Diamond Forms and engaging Yamoh's monster form. The beast proved to be more powerful than they'd expected, smacking the duo around, and Kotoha told them to leave her be and run, about how she tried to leave so that when Yamoh came for her and her Emerald Linkle Stone again they wouldn't get hurt because of her anymore.

Miracle & Magical told her that they didn't care how much they had to fight; they were _not_ going to let Haa-chan be all alone and unprotected. They were her family, they _loved_ her, and they weren't going to let anything tear them apart. The love and courage and warmth Kotoha felt awakened the Pink Tourmaline Linkle Stone's power, restoring her tainted Linkle Smartome and allowing its power to shatter the cage that held her.

As Cure Felice took to the field, the kids of Theta Team arrived to join the fray. As Yamoh prepared to breathe out a stream of corrosive Darkness, a thrown flaming chakram from Anya hit the side of his head, knocking his attack way off course. The damaged fountain still provided enough water for Erika to cast _Suiton: Suikōdan_ , a pair of water sharks flying through the air and bashing into the monster, slashing at his scaly hide with their fangs as they hit. Yamoh tried to crush the heroines with his huge tail, but with a flash of pure-white flames, Caro summoned her White Dragonfire Sword, and the monster roared out in pain as his tail was severed; Anya then set the detached tail ablaze, just in case.

Yamoh breathed out a flame-like stream of Darkness, but Cure Felice used the Pink Tourmaline stone to form a flower-shaped shield that blocked the darkness, and then she launched it back at him, canceling out his attack and smacking him in the face. The beast tried to lash out with ensnaring tendrils of dark power, only for Timmy to leap in with short-sword wreathed in Lightning chakra, slashing them all away and clearing the way for Laicixa to toss Erika at the monster. Erika had a Rasengan ready, and the extra momentum let her slam the attack into Yamoh's upper chest, the grinding concussive blast blowing him backward and weakening him. Finally, the Cure Trio dealt the finishing combo-blow:

"PreCure: Diamond Eternal!" "PreCure: Emerald Reincarnation!"

Yamoh's 'death' cry echoed out, and as the dust faded all that remained were a bug-catching box and a single, non-magical lizard which quickly scurried away. In the aftermath, the three girls reaffirmed their bonds and promised to be together forever, and then hurried home. Unbeknownst to the group, a portly being with reddish-orange skin hovered high overhead, muscular arms folded and eyes focused on the lizard now scurrying behind a tree.

"All that wonderful malevolence and vengeance," the djinn murmured, "and yet he ends up like this. Ah, well. I guess 'magic' has its limits…"

 **-** ** _CHAPTER END_** **-**

Next Time: the first hint of the _real_ threat that the MahouTsukai Pretty Cure have to face…


	16. MahouTsukai 2

**PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** ** _CHAPTER START_** **-**

 **Realm PC-10b**

Mirai, Riko, and Kotoha (and Mofurun) decided to spend their summer vacation in the Magic World, and so Theta Team accompanied them. As the whole group (including Kira in her human holo-magic disguise) entered the magic academy's grounds, they were surprised to see a whole lot of students all around.

"They're all getting things ready for the Summer Festival" Riko explained. "Even though it's always Spring here at the academy…"

After Haa-chan used her magic to make herself a uniform to match Mirai & Riko's, Theta's group headed off to find the Headmaster while the Cure Trio & Mofurun met up with their friends here Jun, Emily, & Kei. Meeting up with the Headmaster in his office, Theta Team spent a little while giving the man some detailed explanations and answering some questions. The Cure group soon showed up as well, and put their substantial collection of Linkle Stones on display, the Emerald Stone in the middle.

"We had assumed that the 'light of life' mentioned in the divination was the Emerald Linkle Stone…" the Headmaster said. "But I suppose the prophecy was just too _vague_ to be sure of anything."

Everyone went their separate ways to tour the campus some more. About an hour later, Mirai found the Headmaster by the academy's old Wand Tree, and the two of them reminisced about how much had happened, while Mirai vowed that she and her friends would be together forever, no matter what.

Then, however, a mysterious new figure appeared before them, a big fat-looking red-skinned genie with a crafty grin. Introducing himself as Labut, the evil genie casually conjured a dome-barrier of Darkness over the area, and then used a balloon and a wolf-statue to summon a huge and powerful 'Don-Yokubal'. Labut explained that he served a being called Deusmast, a malevolent entity who represented "unending chaos" and sought to cover the world in chaotic darkness.

Separated from Riko, Mirai couldn't transform, and the barrier kept Riko, Mofurun, & Kotoha from getting in. However, when Erika & Kira showed up, the Emerald Linkle Stone reacted to Erika's Keyblade, wreathing it in bright green light and allowing her to cut a gash in the barrier, letting the quintet slip through.

As Cures Miracle, Magical, & Felice transformed, the Don-Yokubal fired a wave of balloon-shaped missiles, and Kira formed a shimmering magenta-hued psionic barrier that withstood the blasts. She then fired a Moonblast at the monster, while swung her Keyblade to release a slicing wave of Light. Both attacks hit home, and the Don-Yokubal flinched and snarled, but it didn't seem to have taken too much damage, and it responded by charging at the duo so fast that Kira had to use Teleport to get herself & Erika out of the way.

The three Cures attacked together, landing a few blows but not doing major damage, and were then pushed back by a swing of the Don-Yokubal's massive paw. The beast then fired a huge barrage of missiles which then split into two, half of them going for Cure Felice and the other half for Miracle & Magical. Kira psychically grabbed hold of Cure Felice and pulled her to safety, while Erika threw her Keyblade while rushing in to grab Miracle & Magical, and then pulled a Reverse Recall teleport to get them to safety.

"You really should give up" Labut remarked. "I'm gonna use my mugic [ _muhou_ , claimed by Labut to be his power, as opposed to magic/ _mahou_ ] to make this world ready for Deusmast's revival. Why don't you just let it happen? I'm sure you'll have fun… in the few minutes you'll still be alive during it, that is."

"We won't let that happen!" Cure Miracle stood strong. "I already swore that we won't have to go through anymore sad goodbyes… We're _all_ going to get out of this mess alive and together, and that means we're going to _beat you_!"

Strengthened by Mirai's words, Cures Magical & Felice stood by her, and all three girls' bodies were wreathed in soft, shimmering auras of magical power. The Don-Yokubal fired a focused barrage of explosive projectiles at them, but Felice used the Pink Tourmaline Linkle Stone to form a shield that easily withstood the hits. Cure Miracle and Erika rushed in to attack, hitting the Don-Yokubal with physical blows and Keyblade strikes, actually pushing the monster back, to Labut's surprise.

Cures Felice & Magical moved in next, attacking as one, synchronizing their strikes, aiming at the Don-Yokubal's joints to noticeable effect. As the beast staggered, it launched a large barrage of shots, but then the Headmaster leapt in with staff drawn, forming a barrier of Light that protected him and the girls from the attack. Kira teleported in above the Don-Yokubal, her right hand slamming a Rasengan down into the top of the monster's head and making it faceplant into the ground; Erika had already taught her it, though she wasn't quite sure if it could ever be used in an official Pokémon battle… With the beast wounded, the Cure Trio made the final blow, hitting the monster with Diamond Eternal and Emerald Reincarnation to purify and destroy it.

"Hmph" Labut crossed his arms as he floated overhead. "So you folk are even stronger than I thought, huh… Well, whatever; you'll lose in the end, and Deusmast shall be revived."

"We'll keep standing against and fighting you," Cure Magical glared up at him, "over and over until you're down and out!"

The djinn smirked. "Nope. 'Cause the next time we meet, I'll crush you. See ya."

He vanished, and the dark barrier came down, the skies overhead returning to normal.

"Cassie and I will have to do some study," the Headmaster said, "see if we can find anything about this 'Deusmast'…"

"And w-what are the chances this guy is Deusmast's o-only underling? We might have other n-new foes soon, too…"

"However many show up," Cure Felice replied, "they won't beat us."

- _Break_ -

As the day of the Summer Festival arrived, the Cure Trio (& Mofurun) met up with Jun, Kei, & Emily to enjoy the festival activities, and learned that those girls were in charge of launching the magic-based fireworks this year. However, trouble brewed as it was discovered that the magic flowers used for this had all mysteriously wilted. The old man who kept track of various local legends spoke of a rumored different type of flower that could also make fireworks, though he didn't know where they could be found.

Mirai, Kotoha, and Emily headed out into the forest to search for clues, while Riko, Jun, & Kei dove into the school's library for any relevant information. The search team found their way to a cave in the forest, and within was a hidden field of numerous different flowers, growing in sunlight that filtered through a hole in the cave ceiling. They received a letter from the research team, showing what the flower looked like… but the image was in black & white, and there were three different flowers with the shape & pattern it showed, and the two wrong choices had rather detrimental effects if used. Guided by something deep inside her, Haa-chan made a choice, picking several of her chosen flower, and the trio hurried back as the Sun began to set.

As they arrived back at the academy grounds, however, Labut appeared and created a Don-Yokubal, though fortunately he also summoned a cloud bank that enabled Timmy & Mariko to join Cures Miracle, Magical, and Felice in the air to fight against the monster. The Don-Yokubal, looking like a black-masked rabbit wielding a bow & arrows, was able to fly under its own power due to the dark magic (or 'mugic', as Labut called it) it was composed of, and it packed quite a punch, bashing the five heroes around.

However, the good guys quickly rallied, adjusting to the Don-Yokubal's patterns of attack. Sapphire Miracle threw one of the monster's arrows back at it, hitting it in the mask-face and giving Mariko the chance to blast the enemy's bow out of its hands, removing its ranged-attack capability. Timmy charged his short-sword with Lightning chakra, using it to slice away the Don-Yokubal's binding ring as it came at him, and then flew in as fast as he could (which wasn't much compared to, say, the Z-Fighters, but every flyer starts somewhere) and started slashing, dealing a few blows before being batted away, and firing a _Raijū Tsuiga_ as a parting shot that shocked and stunned it, allowing Sapphira Magical and Felice to pummel it some more.

Annoyed, Labut fired a spiraling blast of dark magic at the group. Mariko flapped her vector-wings hard and fast, producing a focused gust of Wind energy that destabilized and weakened the attack, enough that an energy blast dispelled it the rest of the way. Taking advantage of their opening, the three Cures combined their attacks to defeat and destroy the Don-Yokubal, after which Labut retreated.

In the aftermath, Haa-chan proved to have picked correctly, and the six students set off a fantastic fireworks display for the whole region to enjoy.

The next day, the three Cures and Mofurun experienced a very odd Cinderella-themed shared dream… and when they woke up the next morning, the Rainbow Carriage that had appeared in the dream was next to them in real life, a beautiful artifact of tremendous sleeping Light power. They took it to the Headmaster, and while everyone was examining it, it reacted to Mofurun and projected a mysterious and complex magic rune-circle. The Headmaster decided to leave it in the girls' care for now, asking them to let him know if anything happened with it.

On the last day before they had to leave and return to Earth / the 'Non-Magic World', Mirai, Riko, Haa-chan, & Mofurun got roped into helping Jun, Kei, & Emily with their independent-study homework. Unfortunately, they were interrupted by Labut, who trapped the Cure team in a sizable barrier-field and then not only made a Don-Yokubal to attack the girls, but joined in the fight himself as well. And unnoticed by the heroines, two amorphous shadowy figures floated high up by the dome's ceiling, watching the whole affair.

The Don-Yokubal used its paintbrush-club to start bashing Cure Felice around, and when Ruby Miracle & Ruby Magical tried to rush to her defense, Labut blindsided them and blasted them into the dirt. When pressed, he spoke of how the 'mugic' he and his fellows wielded had capabilities beyond the 'magic' the heroines used, and came to them naturally and by instinct rather than having to be trained & studied, meaning that 'studying magic is a waste of effort'.

However, Ruby Miracle refuted him, declaring how much fun magic was, and how much effort her friends had put into it, couldn't possibly be meaningless. The Rainbow Carriage then glowed, giving her the strength to repulse Labut's incoming blow and shove him back. The two girls then blasted him with Ruby Passionale, but the djinn was able to break free of the attack's effect. The Don-Yokubal, however, couldn't overcome Cure Felice's Emerald Reincarnation, and with his monster gone Labut withdrew… for now.

Afterwards, that evening, Theta Team and the Cure group bade goodbye to the Magic World for now, getting on-board the 'Snailiner' that would take them back to Earth. Theta Team rode aboard the first of the train's two cars, while Mirai, Riko, Felice, & Mofurun rode in the second. Unfortunately, as the train was riding through the space between Worlds, Labut sprung his trap, separating the Cures' carriage and leaving it stranded in the Void. He then assumed a gigantic, musclebound form and started effortlessly thrashing the Cures, scattering them across the inter-World space.

In the midst of the lonesome darkness, however, Cure Miracle managed to rekindle her light of hope, and this gave Magical & Felice the strength they needed to pick themselves up and find their way to her, followed by Mofurun with the Rainbow Carriage. The girls' feelings created a new Linkle Stone, Alexandrite, and with it they transformed into new 'super modes' and then used the Carriage to unleash a new ultimate finisher: Extreme Rainbow. Labut was overcome and vanquished, seemingly destroyed, and the train car restored just as the rescue Snailiner came along to pick the girls up and get them to Earth, where Theta had been waiting with panicked worry and were now shocked to learn what had happened.

Also, the girls had come accompanied by a strange group of cutesy little spirits, their power and purpose unknown. For now, all they could do was accommodate these strange little spirits; they seemed friendly enough…

As the next semester at Mirai & Riko's middle school started up, Kotoha joined in as another new transfer student, enjoying herself quite a bit. Some of the odd little spirits followed as well, though thankfully they were smart enough to stay out of the Mundanes' sight without being told to. Haa-chan managed to make friends with Souta, a boy who was captain of the school Soccer Club, helping him get out of a little funk he was in and get the rest of the club to enjoy their practice, and learning a couple tricks from him in return.

The next day, as the Cure girls and Anya waited in the bleachers for an upcoming match between the school team and another's, a new enemy appeared: Shakince, a _tengu_ -themed servant of Deusmast. He used a goal net and a border cone to create a Don-Yokubal, and the Cures transformed to fight it, Mirai & Riko using their Topaz Forms. The monster attacked by firing soccer ball-sized projectiles which expanded into nets upon hitting their targets, managing to ensnare Topaz Miracle. Anya used her fire-chakrams to shred the net-balls aimed at her, while Topaz Magical used her shape-shifting magic orbs to catch and sever the one that almost caught her and then run over to cut her teammate free.

The Don-Yokubal went to charge at Topaz Magical, but when Cure Felice kicked a stray soccer ball at it, it reflexively abandoned its attack and used its extendable arms to block the ball from hitting its net-face. This gave Felice an idea, and she led the girls in a counterattack, getting Miracle & Magical to exploit the monster's habits to make it render itself wide-open to a soccer ball-pattern magical blast kicked by Felice that nailed it in the face, blasting it back and leaving it vulnerable to a Topaz Esperanza finisher. Scowling, Shakince made his withdrawal. In addition, after the battle one of the cute little sprites flew into and joined with the Rainbow Carriage…

The girls then got a surprise visitor, sent by the Headmaster: Riko's father Rian, a famed expert archeologist with plenty of experience investigating legends and artifacts at the Headmaster's behest, and already in-the-know regarding the Pretty Cures and the DDF team. He and the girls went over what they had to work with so far, but Riko grew increasingly frustrated and barely-concealed upset that her long-busy father was only here for work and seemed to be focused entirely on the mission before them rather than his daughter. This culminated in her storming off and running while they were all at the park, with Mirai giving chase to try and smooth things over.

Right after Mirai and Haa-chan managed to pull some damage control off, however, another new servant of Deusmast emerged: Benigyo, a woman who looked like a mix between a _raijin_ and an _oni_. After introducing herself, she used the park's fountain and some fallen leaves to create a rather large and agile Don-Yokubal, flying through the air in pursuit of the girls. Thankfully, they were soon joined by Rian, Kotoha, Mofurun, Erio, & Caro. The original twosome assumed their Sapphire Forms, they and Cure Felice leading the charge, while Erio and Caro wielded spear and sword in support, firing fire blasts and lightning bolts in an attempt to box the Don-Yokubal in. The two Theta members sent out Pokémon to help, Mareep firing Thunder Shocks at the Don-Yokubal while Gible leapt up and struck it with Dual Chops whenever it passed overhead.

The Don-Yokubal rapid-fired water blasts at the team, and one shot managed to catch Sapphire Magical, knocking her to the ground. As she tried to regain herself and get back up, the monster fired another barrage at her, but then her father stepped into its path and conjured a Flame Shield, which proved strong enough to overcome the type advantage and flash-evaporate several of the watery projectiles. Caro moved in to help just as his shield began to fail, her pink Rune Shield tanking the remaining shots, while Friedrich and Gible launched small fireballs and Dragon Rage bursts that slammed into the side of the monster's head, stunning it.

Rian joined the fray properly, firing attack spells at the Don-Yokubal, helping everyone keep the monster surrounded and off-balance. Finally, Erio and his Mareep hit it with a _Dios Tukos_ and an Electro Ball, stunning and weakening it, and then the Cure Trio used Extreme Rainbow to vanquish the monster. With a sneer, Benigyo made her escape for now. In the aftermath, Riko and her father ended up having a proper talk, the man telling of how he never stopped worrying about her, how he was doing this research and travel to find a way for her & her friends to beat the prophesized calamity and win the fight against the Darkness. He made his departure and bade farewell, promising to bring his wife along next time. And, as Mirai, Haa-chan, Mofurun, and (via Cassie) the Headmaster watched this time, another of the little sprites joined with the Rainbow Carriage.

Soon after, the girls' friend Mayumi experienced her 'first love', developing a crush on a boy from another school. Mirai, Riko, Kotoha, and soon Kana (the girls' friend who kept catching sight of the local magical shenanigans and was thus committed to hunting the truth) all joined in to help her work up the courage to confess. Unfortunately, when she finally tried, the boy's girlfriend showed up, leading to a heartbroken Mayumi tearing the love-letter she'd worked so hard on to shreds (in full view of the chagrined couple) and running off, to be caught and comforted by Kana.

When the Cure Trio tried to go after Mayumi & Kana to buy some snacks to help cheer them up, Shakince appeared, and when they tried to blow them off to go help their friends, he forced them to stay by siccing a Don-Yokubal on them. However, this time Theta Team's members didn't even get the chance to show up and join in before the Ruby Cures & Felice, driven by their passion, managed to defeat and destroy the monster, sending Shakince away. Afterward, Riko gave both girls a treat by dropping some snacks for them and letting herself be seen (though not close enough to identify her) flying away on her broom, leaving Kana elated and Mayumi happily shocked & glad for her friend.

As the elections for student president approached, Riko decided to run against Yuuto, a quiet and studious classmate who was the only other one running for the position. As the campaign passed, however, Riko came to realize that she didn't really know what to do with her position, and she also saw how much Yuuto was invested in making the school a better, friendlier place. When Benigyo threw a Don-Yokubal at the girls, the monster's punishing gusts of wind leaving them near-helpless and threatening to level the school, Laicixa made her appearance just in time, using Voulge's Haken-Saber form to hack off one of the Yokubal's giant fans, letting the girls get free. Fueled by her conviction on what she knew she must do, Diamond-form Cure Magical led the counterattack, turning the tables on the monster and helping to vanquish it. In the aftermath, she conceded the election, letting Yuuto become student president, a job she knew he'd do great at.

The girls and Mofurun soon had a strange new visitor: a little bee-fairy named Chikurun. He made friends with them after some initial friction, getting along especially well with Mofurun. The next day, Chikurun asked Mofurun if she knew of anywhere he could find good honey, and she led him to a field of cosmos flowers on the edge of town. While they were there, however, they were ambushed by Oruba, another servant of Deusmast with the form of a scholarly young man. He had determined that Mofurun was somehow important to the MahouTsukai Pretty Cures' powers, and intended to capture and 'study' the magic teddy-bear.

The cavalry arrived in the nick of time, however, the three Cure girls joined by Timmy & Anya. Oruba formed and unleashed a Don-Yokubal, while Timmy sent out his Pokémon to help with fire-support, Chimchar combining fire attacks with Anya while Timmy and his Voltorb blasted the monster with electrical attacks, keeping the thing from pinning the Cures down. During the battle, one of the Don-Yokubal's missiles almost hit Chikurun, but the Cures flew in and redirected it, flinging the projectile right back at the monster. Timmy's Voltorb then used Eerie Impulse to weaken the dark monster's long-range attacks while his Chimchar inflicted it with a Burn to weaken its physical strikes as well, giving the heroes an easier time dealing with the thing as they wore it down, finally ending the battle with a Sapphire Smartish / Emerald Reincarnation combo.

The Headmaster went missing again, and Caro & Friedrich accompanied the Cure Trio plus Mofurun & Chikurun over to the Magic World, tracking him down to an always-summer island where the sun-kissed oranges that were used to make Frozen Mandarins grew. Apparently, they weren't growing quite as well or as often as they should be, and he'd come to try and figure out why. After harvesting a few baskets-full of them, they traveled to the frozen island, where the the oranges could be frozen by "the sigh of an Ice Dragon". There were plenty of Ice Dragons around, though none of them would release the ice-breath sigh, despite the various ways the hero group tried to get them to.

Before they could solve the issue, though, Benigyo appeared and attacked with a Don-Yokubal made from an empty basket and some icicles. Mirai was busy handling one of the Ice Dragons, but as Cure Felice got ready to fight below, Caro pitched in to help, unsealing Friedrich and sending out her Charmander as well. The Alzusian Dragon led the charge, using fangs & claws as he grappled with the Don-Yokubal, though it kept twisting out of the way of his attempts to blast it with flames. The monster managed to fire a barrage of ice spears at Riko and the Headmaster, but Caro formed a Round Shield wreathed in White Dragonfire that flash-melted the icy projectiles on contact, protecting them. A few more had Chikurun in the crossfire, but Caro's Charmander used Metal Claws to slice the ice spears out of the air, saving the little bee-fairy.

Mirai arrived, she and Riko assuming their Ruby Forms and going on the offensive with Felice & Caro. One of the Ice Dragons joined in to help, releasing a wave of freezing wind that froze the Don-Yokubal's ice-spear launcher shut, clogging it with snow. This eased the pressure on the heroes, who quickly began pushing the monster back, bolstered by Ruby Miracle's vow to let their new little fairy friend get to taste a Frozen Mandarin. Finally, Caro ensnared it with Alchemic Chain, letting the Cures destroy it with a group finisher. Annoyed at yet another loss, Benigyo teleported out. In the aftermath, they all shared a couple of Frozen Mandarins, with Chikurun finding them even tastier than he expected.

-X-

As the three Cure girls and Mofurun & Chikurun headed back to the village surrounding the magic academy, wanting to walk around a little before heading back to Earth, they ran into some familiar faces at the local park: Jun, Kei, Emily, and Riko's older sister Liz.

"What are you guys doin' here?" Jun asked.

"The Headmaster went missing," Mirai replied, "and the Vice-Headmaster asked us to help find him. He was over on the island where the orange used for Frozen Mandarins grow. It's a bit of a story…"

"What about you girls?" Kotoha asked.

"Just hanging out" Kei replied. "We ran into Liz-sensei about five minutes ago, and she said she wanted to stick with us a bit."

"Giving them some company _and_ making sure they stay out of trouble" the older girl cheerfully admitted.

"Wanna hang with us for a bit?" Jun asked the Cure Trio.

For the next 10 minutes or so, the girls (and Chikurun) hung out together, just making small-talk and looking at things. As they prepared to leave the park and go their separate ways, however, the sky overhead suddenly darkened, and they could sense Darkness in the air. Then, a shadow came over them, and they looked up to see Shakince standing atop a tree, arms folded. He snapped his fingers, and a Dark Barrier formed around this part of the park.

"Now then," he said, "let's not beat around the bush. Come forth, Don-Yokubal!"

A tree and a park bench went into the creation of a Don-Yokubal, the monster calling out as it loomed over the group of mages.

"Come on now, girls. Transform so I can defeat you properly. Or don't, I don't care that much."

Mirai, Riko, and Kotoha tensed up, backing up a little, while the frightened girls and Riko's older sister looked confused.

"W-What is he talking about?" Emily asked.

"Oh?" Shakince arched an eyebrow. "Could it be you've been hiding it from your friends? Alright, then; if you won't transform in front of bystanders, putting you down will be much easier."

The Don-Yokubal swung a leafy branch-arm down at the group, and Liz immediately conjured a Barrier spell to protect them. She winced and stumbled back as the hit made her barrier warp and crack, nearly shattering. The next blow shattered the shield completely and sent the whole group tumbling, slamming against the edge of the barrier. Jun, Kei, & Emily groaned as they tried to help each other up, while Liz tried to take a protective position in front of the group.

Mirai looked over at Riko & Kotoha, and Riko let out a little sigh and nodded. The trio stepped forward, to the surprise of the other four, and Riko looked backward at them.

"Sorry for keeping a pretty big secret from you guys for a while…"

Then, the trio were enveloped in spiraling lights, which then dispersed to reveal their transformed states. Jun, Emily, Kei, and Liz were overcome with shock as the sight before them sank in:

"M… Mirai and Riko and… "and Haa-chan are…" "the legendary mages…" MahouTsukai… PreCure…?"

The Don-Yokubal prepared to swing its branch-arm as a club again, but then a _Fūton: Shinkūha_ came in from the side and sliced off most of its branches, as Mariko joined the fray; she'd gotten through the barrier by using a vector-drill to tunnel her way under it, as evidenced by the hole in the earth behind her. She sent out her Starly and her Pichu to pitch in, though the next blow came from Cure Miracle as she took advantage of the Don-Yokubal's distraction to punt it halfway across the battlefield.

The Don-Yokubal roared as it swung its other branch-arm, releasing a barrage of razor-sharp leaves at the girls. Mariko used her vectors to deflect each and every one of them, and then the Cures went on the attack, striking with a barrage of blows from three different directions at once. The monster growled as it swung its limbs, trying to bat them away, and was then zapped by a Thunder Wave from Mariko's Pichu, hindering and slowing its movements.

Mariko blasted the Don-Yokubal with _Fūton: Daitoppa_ , battering the monster and keeping it off-balance. Her Starly then hit it in the face with a Wing Attack, stunning it further, letting Cure Felice hit it with a Linkle Stone Peridot blast. Pichu hit it with a Thunder Shock when it tried to retaliate, damaging it further, and Miracle & Magical finally ended the fight with a Diamond Eternal. Letting out a frustrated grunt, Shakince retreated, the dark barrier coming down.

Before anyone could say or do anything else, Mariko's Pichu was enveloped in glowing white light, her little body becoming a mass of light that shifted and grew. When the transformation ended and the light faded, the newly-evolved Pikachu looked herself over, heart-shaped tail-tip giving a twitch, and then she turned to look at her Trainer with a big smile. Mariko squeed as her Pikachu leapt into her arms, hugging her close. Meanwhile, the three Cures de-transformed and headed over to their friends and Liz, and the older girl immediately pulled Riko into a tight hug.

"I still can't believe it…" she said. "My baby sister is one of the legendary warriors…"

"I kept it hidden because I was embarrassed…" Riko admitted. "One of the legendary heroines being the girl who was totally inept at practical magic? That's just…"

"Does… Does anyone else know?" Kei asked.

"The Headmaster knows" Mirai replied. "I don't know if he's told the Vice-Headmaster or not. And because Riko's father is the Headmaster's main guy for ferreting out ancient secrets and relics and legends and whatnot, the Headmaster brought him into the loop as well. Apparently they're tracking information regarding our current enemies and some prophesized 'great calamity'…"

"And as for me and my friends," Mariko came up, still holding her Pikachu while Starly sat on her head, "that's a whole other story… Might take a bit of time to explain."

"Today's a holiday" Jun replied. "We're all ears."

 **-** ** _CHAPTER END_** **-**

And we cap off the latest round of adventures with a brand-new battle that never happened in the original canon, complete with people whose canon selves were kept in the dark the whole way finding out here. Next time, how might Deusmast's servants seek to bring an end to the PreCure?


	17. MahouTsukai 3

**PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** ** _CHAPTER START_** **-**

 **Realm PC-10**

In the aftermath, the trio gave what explanations they could to their friends and Liz. Jun, Kei, & Emily were super-excited that their friends were the legendary warriors, while Liz fretted over the dangers her baby sister & her two friends had gotten mixed up in. And the brief explanations about the Dimensional Defense Force threw the quartet for a loop, especially the natures of other magical styles whose methods of casting, channeling energy, and whatnot were so different from what they were used to. Not to mention that the legendary weapons, the Keyblades, were mixed up in things as well.

Also, as a magic teacher, Liz felt the need to slightly lecture Anya a little upon learning that the fire-user had learned a spell she technically couldn't do; although Anya in theory knew the casting method, in practice the amount of magic needed to cast _Ourania Phlogosis_ was larger than her entire mana-reserves level, meaning that even if she went into a battle fully-charged with as much mana as her body and Linker Core could carry, it still wouldn't be quite enough to cast that one high-level spell. She needed to wait until physical aging increased the size of her 'fuel tank' before she could ever use it (when she protested that Negi threw around such spells despite being a year younger than her, Liz retorted that it sounded like Negi was 'a bit of a freak of nature' in terms of magical capacity and strength)…

The next day, Theta Team chose not to get involved in the chasing of the 'pumpkin bird' for the Magic World's annual Pumpkin Festival, mainly due to the fact that the enchanted creature could turn people into giant candy and none of them wanted to experience that. The three Cures and Mofurun & Chikurun ended up chasing the pumpkin-bird into the nearby forest, where Mofurun helped it deal with a bad tooth and it returned the favor by aiding the Cures against Shakince's latest Don-Yokubal.

Then, the magic school students took a trip to the Non-Magic World to participate in the town's equivalent celebrations, with Jun, Kei, & Emily bonding with the locals (Kana & Mayumi, Souta & Yuuki, etc.). Benigyo tried to interrupt the festivities with a Don-Yokubal, but the Cures and Laicixa managed to beat the monster back and destroy it, leading to another Linkle Spirit melding with the Rainbow Carriage.

Soon after, Riko's birthday arrived, and the Asahina household received a few visitors come to celebrate: Riko's older sister Liz, father Rian, and her mother Lilia who'd been working as a TV chef here in the Non-Magic World. Riko's family were a bit over-the-top with the celebration, though Riko was still grateful for the feelings behind it. After the party, though, Shakince trapped the three girls and Mofurun in a pocket dimension with a Don-Yokubal, also trying to scare them by showing them a hint of what Deusmast is capable of via a magic 'screen', a bestial mass of Darkness shattering planets in its wake.

However, Cure Magical's desire to get back and properly thank her family for celebrating her birthday and trying to make her happy, despite how embarrassing it was at parts, caused the Tanzanite Linkle Stone to warp itself into the pocket realm, letting Magical bring the team (and Shakince & his Don-Yokubal) back to the normal world. Without the Darkness of that pocket realm, the monster was weakened slightly, letting the girls overcome it and destroy it, after which another of the Linkle Spirits melded into the Rainbow Carriage.

In the aftermath, considering that her father and sister were in the loop, Riko decided to tell her mother about the whole Pretty Cure situation. Predictably, Lilia was very shocked to learn of the sort of big, dangerous role her baby girl & her friends had gotten mixed up in, but understanding that there wasn't really anything she could do about it she gave Riko her blessing and promised to do whatever she could to support them.

The next few days were pretty peaceful, with the shortened travel time between the two linked sub-Realms letting them make time for classes in the Magic and Non-Magic Worlds. Three days after Riko's birthday, Jun invited the whole gang to a slumber party in her dorm-room (since the room the Cure Trio usually used had been appropriated for storage of Jun's various art projects). Theta Team couldn't come, but they did lend the group a few seal-tags that would project a sound-proofing barrier around the room so the patrolling Vice-Headmaster didn't interrupt their fun.

After Jun, Kei, & Emily had gone to bed, though, as Mirai was looking at the beautiful moon, she caught sight of the Headmaster flying off toward the base of the Great Tree. Curious, and struck by an odd, ambiguous 'bad feeling', she roused her teammates and the '-run pair' and flew off to follow. When they got to the tree, they found the Headmaster & Cassie confronted by Oruba, and quickly leapt in to help him and transformed, Miracle & Magical using their Ruby forms. Oruba called out a Don-Yokubal to keep the girls busy while he went searching for something in the waters nearby. The Don-Yokubal proved to be a bit of a tough one, using swatting strikes with its oar-arms and blasts of wind to keep the girls from landing any serious hits on it. But then…

" _CureUp RaPaPa!_ Water, freeze into spears of ice!"

The sea abruptly surged upward, multiple large spears of ice forming and shooting up at the Don-Yokubal, catching it off-guard and damaging its oars. The Cures, surprised by the sudden assistance, turned to look and were shocked to see none other than the Vice-Headmaster, her wand at the ready. The woman then conjured two large hands of solid rock up from the island, grabbing hold of the Don-Yokubal and pinning it in place. Taking the opportunity, the Cure Trio finished the monster off with a combined Emerald Reincarnation and Ruby Passionale. As everyone regrouped, however, they saw as Oruba reappeared holding a skull-marked tome brimming with Dark power, which the Headmaster recognized as Kushi's old tome. The evil _djinn_ vanished before anyone could stop him.

"U-Um… Thank you for the help against that monster, brave academy teacher" Cure Magical said to the Vice-Headmaster, trying to disguise her voice. "Surely, you-"

"I saw you three girls leaving the dorms, and followed you here" the older woman stated plainly. "And yes, I saw you all transform. To think that the three of you were the Legendary Mages… *sigh*…"

The Cure Trio fidgeted as they de-transformed. "We'd better fill you in on the details, I guess…" Haa-chan said.

The girls and the Headmaster explained everything they could to the Vice-Headmaster during the flight back to the dorms. Before sending the girls off to bed, the older woman tossed out a worrying theory: perhaps Oruba sought Kushii's tome because maybe the dark power Kushii subsumed himself in came from Deusmast…

The next day, Mofurun and Mirai joined/followed Chikurun in a honey-gathering mission (not knowing that the little bee-fairy actually came out to do something else). They then headed back to campus, and Liz led the six girls (& Mofurun) in making honey pudding… and failed to notice as Chikurun, following the orders of his true master and fighting against his conscience, reluctantly made off with the bag full of Linkle Stones and the Linkle Smartbook.

Now, as Mirai (with Mofurun as passenger), Riko, & Kotoha flew out over the forest, they arrived to see Chikurun holding the bag and hovering right in front of Shakince.

"Get away from him!" Mirai shouted. "Chikurun, run!"

"You fools don't get it?" Shakince said as he held out his hand and Chikurun dropped the bag into it, turning away from the girls and trying to cover his face & ears in shame. "This little fairy has been Oruba's pawn this whole time. He was under orders to observe you girls and gather information for us. It was Oruba's order that he steal your Stones and bring them to me. Now… You are helpless, and now I can finally crush you!"

He swung his arms, releasing a blast of wind that battered the girls around and slammed them to the ground far below.

"Hey!" Chikurun fluttered up in front of Shakince. "This wasn't part of the deal! You said you wouldn't hurt them!"

In response, Shakince scowled and swatted Chikurun away, leaving him to fall near the Cures. "So you _did_ grow attached to them…"

He then grew a second pair of wings, and rapidly increased in size, his pale-blond hair flaring up behind him as he turned into a giant. Now at full power, Shakince then swallowed whole the bag containing the girls' Linkle Stones.

Chikurun only hesitated for a moment before he made his choice on where he stood, taking off and flying up at the giant Shakince, dodging the blast of wind the djinn fired. He flew in through the giant's mouth and down his throat, despite the villain's surprised attempts to force him out, and soon escaped with the Linkle Smartbook and the Topaz & Emerald Linkle Stones. Though he made it down to the group, handing the precious objects over to Mofurun, he was hit by a dark-magic blast on his way down, seriously injuring him. Mofurun cradled the injured fairy close as the Cures transformed.

Cure Miracle formed her Topaz Orbs into a huge hammer, swinging it to meet the incoming punch from Shakince's giant fist. Unfortunately, the djinn's attack won out, shattering Miracle's mana construct and forcing her down. Cure Felice formed her wings and attacked next, channeling as much power as she could into her fist, and Shakince again matched the attack with his own punch… and unfortunately, the evil djinn's attack again overpowered his opponent's, sending Cure Felice down to the ground to join her fellows.

"WHY FIGHT SO HARD FOR A TRAITOR?" Shakince asked. "NO MATTER. WITH MY FULL POWER, I WILL CRUSH YOU ALL – YOU GIRLS, AND THE TWO ANNOYING LITTLE PEBBLES WITH YOU. THEY WILL BE GRINDED INTO A SMEAR UPON MY HEEL!"

He brought his massive foot down at Mofurun & Chikurun. The Cures dashed in, forming a shining golden dome of defensive magic just in time; the dome cracked from the impact and pressure, the girls straining to sustain it.

"Despite everything," Topaz Miracle said, "Chikurun is our friend! We've had so much fun together!"

"I know that the times he & we have spent together have taught him how important friendship is," Topaz Magical added, "and that led him to do the right thing in the end. It's something _you_ could never understand!"

"No matter what," Felice shouted, "we will not forsake our _friend_!"

The girls' bodies then glowed with gold and green auras, as the Topaz Linkle Stone responded to their excited feelings. Their golden barrier shattered outward, throwing Shakince back a little. Topaz Miracle then leapt high, forming a mallet from her golden magic orbs, and the already-huge hammer quadrupled in size as she swung it, overcoming Shakince's next strike and slamming into his chest, knocking the giant djinn back. Shakince snarled, making ready to charge an energy blast, but was then stunned as a blast of Light magic came sailing in and nailed him in the face, as Erika finally arrived on the scene.

Erika fired a Prism Rain barrage, the multicolored magic blasts aimed at Shakince's head, keeping him busy as the Cures shifted to their Alexandrite Forms and called forth the Rainbow Carriage. Breaking free from the little Keyblader's attacks, Shakince charged at the Cure Trio… just as their Extreme Rainbow attack fired, catching the djinn head-on with the full force of the attack. Shakince's final curse screamed at the Cures echoed and faded away as the Light energy engulfed and obliterated him, freeing the Linkle Stones he'd swallowed.

Back at the Magic Academy, Chikurun explained how Oruba had caught him slacking off in his duties to the Fairy Village and had threatened to expose him to the 'scary Queen' unless he did what Oruba asked him to. This was followed by one ill deed after another, each one adding to the studious djinn's hold on the little bee-fairy. Mirai suggested they all head to the Fairy Village and apologize to the Fairy Queen together, explain the situation to her and whatnot. …And in response to that proclamation, the magical portal-door the girls had once used to find the battle between the Headmaster and Dokuroxy reappeared in front of them. Readying themselves, they all opened the door and passed through.

Upon arriving in the Fairy Village, Haa-chan suddenly shrunk down to the size and form of a fairy, also experiencing another inexplicable memory of a sea of flowers. Then, the Fairy Queen and her entourage appeared, and escorted the gang to the village proper. There, the Queen of two generations ago told everyone an ancient legend that explained the origins of many things:

Millennia ago, humans, magic beasts, animals, and spirits lived together in harmony under the watchful eyes of Mother RaPaPa, a goddess of extraordinary power and pure, love-filled heart, basking in the warmth and light of the enormous Mother Tree, the Heart of the World. However, one day a great calamitous Darkness arose: Deusmast, the spirit of dark chaos and of destruction for destruction's sake. Mother RaPaPa did battle with the fiend and his servants, sealing all of the latter away, and then using her Light to defeat and seal Deusmast as well. However, she expended so much energy and sustained such wounds in the battle that she could no longer maintain her form. As the goddess faded away, the Mother Tree was torn free from the world and drifted off through time and space. Eventually, a new World grew from the Mother Tree's roots, spreading out to become the Magic World, with the Mother Tree now at the heart of the Magic Academy; the world it left behind, meanwhile, became the Non-Magic World.

As the girls processed these revelations, the meeting was rudely interrupted by unexpected uninvited guests: Spalda, the spider-woman servant of Dokuroxy who was thought destroyed, and Oruba who had resurrected her using Kushi's tome. She used an ember and a stone to make a Fire-Rock Yokubal, and the girls transformed; as Miracle & Magical assumed their Sapphire Forms, Spalda was shocked to see the child-fairy she remembered take human form and become the Emerald Pretty Cure, while the Old Fairy Queen gazed in awe at Felice's familiar radiance, and then got yet another shock as Erika summoned her Keyblade, recognizing the Legendary Weapon of Light.

The Yokubal scattered flaming rock-bombs all over, battering the girls and setting numerous parts of the fairy forest ablaze. Erika, however, used _Suikōdan no Jutsu_ to not only blast the monster back but also near-totally extinguish its flames, weakening it considerably. Cure Felice, swearing to protect this forest, then used Emerald Reincarnation to destroy the beast; Oruba's smug calmness dropped as he felt Felice's power, looking as if he recognized it from somewhere. Furious, Spalda tried to charge, but then Erika decided to use the spider-lady as a test target for her newest technique, one she'd been working on for weeks. The padded little girl and her Shadow Clone rushed at Spalda, holding a swirling mass of compressed and chaotic Water-type chakra with a marbled blue appearance, and a considerable amount of power packed in tight and ready to unleash as she rammed it into Spalda's chest:

" _Suiton: Rasengan_!"

Spalda cried out as the Water Release Rasengan bored into her for a moment and then went off, blasting her back with a focused spiraling whirlpool-torrent of destructive energy. When the dust cleared, Spalda was barely holding herself together. The wounded spider-lady and curious djinn retreated, and the forest was magically restored.

In the aftermath, the Old Queen spoke of how Mother RaPaPa's final words proclaimed how one day, a new magic would arise and bridge the two separated worlds together again: the magic known as the Pretty Cures. The girls bade farewell to the fairies, including Chikurun, heading back through the portal-door.

-X-

A couple days later, the Cure Trio & Mofurun were heading home from shopping together. As they neared Mirai's house, however, Oruba's experimental spell came down on their heads. Mofurun groaned softly as she regained her bearings, and then her eyes went wide with shock as she beheld Mirai, Riko, and Haa-chan somehow regressed into four-year-olds!

Thankfully, when she contacted Theta Team's little base and explained what had happened, Kira teleported right over, bringing Mariko with her, the motherly Gardevoir quickly taking charge and calming the little ones, warping everyone into Mirai's room. As Mariko kept the trio occupied (the Cure Trio had regressed mentally as well as physically), Kira & Mofurun contacted the Headmaster, who had no clue what could have caused this. In any event, after the kids tired themselves out and laid down for a nap (Mariko was a little embarrassed that as the de-aged girls cuddled up against her, her diapered backside was used by toddler Haa-chan as a pillow, though it was also really cute so she didn't mind _that_ much), Mirai's mother came home, but Kira used her psychic powers to subtly influence the woman into not coming in to check on the girls and thus discovering the unusual situation.

However, a little while later, Spalda showed up outside, accompanied by a Yokubal and a recently-restored Gametsu, the big buff challenge-seeking turtle-man servant of Dokuroxy. Mofurun and Kira moved outside to confront the interlopers, Kira doing quite a bit of damage to the Yokubal with Psyshocks and Moonblasts, but then Gametsu called out a second Yokubal, making things a little harder for her.

The noise of the conflict woke the de-aged girls up, and they & Mariko came outside to investigate, just as Spalda started kicking Mofurun around. Despite their predicament, they came to their little friend's defense, and when they transformed into their Cure Forms it somehow undid the de-aging curse, returning them to normal. Diamond Miracle & Magical handled Spalda's Yokubal, Gametsu insisted on a one-on-one fight with Cure Felice, and Mariko jumped in to help Kira against Gametsu's Yokubal, all while Spalda simply hung back and watched.

When Oruba interrupted Felice & Gametsu's fight to question the former, his comments awakened her protective instincts and righteous fury, and she used the Pink Tourmaline stone to force them both back and hit the two Yokubals as well. Kira & Mariko took advantage and hit Gametsu's Yokubal with a combination of Magical Leaf and a focused Wind Release ninjutsu, trapping it in a swirling column of slicing multicolored leaves, while Kira then teleported overhead and fired a Moonblast straight down at the monster, the combination doing quite a bit of damage. Finally, the Cures blasted the Yokubals with Extreme Rainbow, destroying both monsters at once. With his theory confirmed by what he sensed in Felice's power, Oruba fell back, taking Spalda & Gametsu with him.

A couple of days later, the Cure Trio (& Mofurun) and Laicixa headed to a deserted part of the local park to meet with the Headmaster and discuss recent events. When the Cure girls came back from a quick snack-run, however, they were shocked to find the Headmaster and Laicixa casually sitting with Batty, another of Dokuroxy's old servants, who showed no intention of picking a fight with the Cures, unlike his former comrades. Indeed, he seemed listless and morose, feeling that he had no purpose, no reason to exist, that his revival was a wasteful act.

The next interloper was considerably less peaceful. Oruba appeared, Kushi's dark-magic tome in hand and Spalda & Gamettsu at his side, and warped everyone onto a massive 'stage' platform high in the sky at the center of a giant whirlwind of clouds. As Spalda turned into a giant spider-monster and attacked Topaz Miracle & Magical while Gamettsu did battle with Cure Felice, Oruba sicced a Don-Yokubal on Laicixa to keep her busy. The djinn then revealed that eons ago, when Mother RaPaPa defeated and sealed all of Deusmast's servants, he scattered the pieces of dark magic knowledge across the world, counting on it eventually being found. Kushi found and gathered those pieces, delving into dark magic, and the energies he wielded as Dokuroxy played a key role in freeing Oruba and his fellows from imprisonment, just as Oruba had planned. He also revealed that Cure Felice, Haa-chan, carried Mother RaPaPa's power, inheritor of the goddess' magic and Light.

Sparda made her long-planned move, ensnaring Oruba in webbing and snatching Kusi's tome from him, declaring that she would bring about her own world of darkness, Deusmast be damned. Oruba responded by transforming into his true form, angelic and demonic features melded together in equal measure, and when Sparda & Gamettsu tried to double-team him he effortlessly withstood their attacks and then stripped them of their power, reverting them to a harmless spider and turtle.

Then, however, as Oruba was about to go for the heroes, Batty appeared. Using the base animal forms of Sparda, Gamettsu, & Yamoh, along with a Dokuroxy scarecrow, he created a Yokubal and engaged Oruba's Don-Yokubal in battle. To everyone's shock, Batty's monster soon gained the upper hand against Oruba's, his conviction and heart giving him & his Yokubal the strength to overcome the Don-Yokubal and then destroy it, leaving Oruba near-speechless.

"The courage and strength of a person's Heart can produce magic that can overcome any obstacle," Cure Felice declared, "including the dark power you people wield."

"Shut up…" Oruba snarled. "Shut _up_!-!"

He dove down at the group, but then Laicixa fired a flash of Light magic from her Keyblade that temporarily blinded the djinn, giving the Cure Trio the time they needed to ready and fire their Extreme Rainbow attack. Unfortunately, even as he as being destroyed by the Light, Oruba used the last of his power and the Darkness stored in Kushi's tome to free several other sealed servants of Deusmast around the world…

Afterwards, Batty bade the heroes farewell, taking the animal forms of his old comrades with him. When the Headmaster reclaimed his old friend's book, he found a handwritten message inside, from Kushi to him, explaining how the other man had gone out of his way to make sure his friend didn't get involved in the danger he was facing, for his sake. As he reminisced about how much he & his old friend went through together, the girls wondered just what kind of trouble Oruba's final act would cause them down the line…

-X—

Under the starry sky, Mirai, Mofurun, Riko, & Kotoha set down on the ground out of sight by Mirai's house and then headed around to the front Mirai's parents and grandmother were just coming back from shopping together, and by chance Kana & Mayumi were passing by on their way somewhere. They all smiled and greeted the three girls as they came over.

"So, this is your 'happy little family', hm?"

Everyone startled at the sudden voice from above, and looked up. Mirai's family & friends stared in stunned shock, and the Cure Trio & Mofurun in horror, as Benigyo hovered overhead.

"S-She's… flying…" Kyoko (Mirai's mother) murmured.

"A… Are you a mage?!" Kana asked excitedly.

Looking at the various people's reactions, Benigyo smirked. "Oh, could it be that you never told them anything? That might make this a bit more interesting. Come forth, Don-Yokubal!"

The familiar monster came into being, looming over the puny humans. Daikichi (Mirai's father) hurriedly put himself in a protect position in front of his wife and her mother Kanoko, while Mayumi & Kana screamed and held each other.

"What now, girls?" Benigyo taunted. "You can either reveal yourselves, or take your secret to the grave!"

Benigyo snapped her fingers, and a dark barrier formed around the whole area, preventing any escape. The Don-Yokubal spat out a dark-magic blast that blew a crater in the street in front of the civilians, the concussion wave knocking them all off their feet. Realizing now that they had no other choice, the Cure Trio stepped forward, to the confusion of their friends and Mirai's family.

"Sorry we've been keeping something big a secret from you, everyone…" Mirai said to them.

The girls were then enveloped in swirling, sparkling lights, emerging as Cures Miracle, Magical, and Felice. Mirai's family and friends stared in shocked awe, especially Kana; Mirai and Riko and Haa-chan weren't just mages, they were _magical girls_. The Don-Yokubal charged, and Miracle & Magical leapt up and hit it with a matching double-kick that knocked it back quite a distance. They and Felice then went on the attack, hammering the monster with punishing blows.

There was a flash of red light as Miracle & Magical debuted their newest trick developed with Theta Team's help: switching Forms on the fly, without having to de-transform first. Now in their Ruby Forms, they caught the Don-Yokubal's next strike and countered with fiery punches that blasted the monster back, its back slamming against the edge of the barrier around the area. It spat out a sizable energy blast, but Cure Felice used the Pink Tourmaline Linkle Stone to form a flower-shaped shield that bounced the blast right back to hit the Don-Yokubal in the face, doing more damage.

Enraged, the Don-Yokubal charged again, but then the Ruby duo hit it with Ruby Passionale, stopping its attack cold and seriously damaging it. With their foe weakened, the three Cures then unleashed Extreme Rainbow, destroying the monster and also shattering the surrounding barrier. Growling, Benigyo teleported out. The girls then turned to their friends and Mirai's family, de-transforming.

"I guess we've got some explaining to do…" Riko said sheepishly.

-X-

"…And that's where we are now" Kotoha wrapped up the rather lengthy explanations, everyone seated in the Asahina household's (now somewhat cramped) living room. Everyone was still stunned silent… though Kana was practically _vibrating_ from excitement; magic was real, mages were real, three of her best friends had been mages all this time and Haa-chan _was_ the 'Happiness Fairy' that appeared at school one day, there was an entire magical _world_ parallel to this one, these three were legendary magical-girl warriors…

"Gracious…" Kanako murmured. "To think you girls have been caught up in something so big for _months_ now…"

Kyoko Asahina was still having a bit of trouble wrapping her head around the fact that Mirai's old teddy Mofurun was now alive and magical, though she was very pleasant to be around, and her loyalty to Mirai was ironclad…

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Mirai's father asked.

Riko sighed. "Other than emotional support and maybe coming up with cover stories if we have to run off suddenly, not really."

"Better than nothing, I guess" Mayumi said. "My God, it's still hard to believe this is all real… but, it _does_ explain a lot of things, when you think about it. …Who else knows?"

"If you mean, who here knows we're mages, nobody really" Mirai responded. "If you're talking about the fact we're the MahouTsukai Pretty Cure… There's Jun, Kei, & Emily from the Magic Academy, as well as the Academy's Headmaster and Vice-Headmaster, and Riko's family."

"And this 'Theta Team' group" Kanako added. "It's nice to know you girls have some help from beyond the stars; from what you'd told about this 'Deusmast' entity, I fear you'll need it."

Haa-chan then yawned, and her friends followed suit.

"It's getting pretty late" Daikichi Asahina said. "It's been an eventful day, to say the least. You girls should go to bed soon, I think."

As Mirai nodded and got up, her mother hugged her close, the rest of her family joining in. Their little girl had become something greater than they'd imagined, so strong and brave, but also kind and pure of heart, her light and joy forming bonds of friendship that transcended Worlds.

As Riko looked out the window, up at the moon, she couldn't help but feel like they were approaching a climax point…

 **-** ** _CHAPTER END_** **-**

Next Time; the final battle, which will go… somewhat differently than canon (since we can't end it with the Magic and Non-Magic Worlds being cut off from each other here).


	18. MahouTsukai 4

**PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** ** _CHAPTER START_** **-**

 **Realm PC-10**

A few days later, the Cure Trio and Mofurun decided to head to the old shrine atop the hill overlooking the city, and Theta Team accompanied them. But then, the peace of the shrine under the cool sunny sky was interrupted as the sun overhead went dark, as if suddenly eclipsed. As they group turned to look, the black disk seemed to be expanding… or rather, coming closer. Suddenly, Kotoha's Emerald Linkle Stone and Laicixa & Erika's Keyblades manifested and shone with Light together, and the disk's approach stopped, leaving it about thrice the size of the sun in the now-dark sky.

Benigyo appeared, floating in the center of a formation of nearly a dozen shadowy spirits – more of the djinns who served Deusmast, freed from their prison by Oruba's last act but not yet able to fully manifest their physical forms. At Benigyo's signal, the various spirits all melded into her, and her body briefly went jet-black as she enlarged and changed. When her colors returned, she was much larger (though not as big as Shakince's true form had been), her tail thicker and with a bladed tip, the claws of her hands & feet longer and sharper, the skimpy armor she wore had grown to cover her body more thoroughly, and a huge pair of white, feathery wings sprouted from her back.

Everyone got ready to fight; Mirai & Riko assumed their Sapphire Forms as Haa-chan turned into Cure Felice as well, Laicixa, Erio, & Caro formed their Barrier Jackets, Laicixa & Erika held their Keyblades at the ready, Caro formed her White Dragonfire Sword, Anya called out her flame chakrams, Mariko's vectors emerged, Kira shed her holo-disguise and prepared to fight… 11 heroes, plus Mofurun and Friedrich, stood ready to stop the coming chaos.

"Damned Keyblades and Linkle Stones," Benigyo snarled, "obstructing Lord Deusmast's revival… No matter; their power will fade once their wielders are corpses!"

She charged down at the gang, who scattered in various directions to dodge a heel-drop kick that shattered the old stonework where they'd just been standing. Laicixa immediately focused her will through her Device and fired a Photon Lancer barrage from the side, while at the same time Caro launched a fireball. Benigyo brought her arms up to brace against the fireball, showing only a small scorch-mark on her arms' armor, and then flapped her wings to release a gust of Darkness-enriched wind that deflected and destabilized Laicixa's magic bolts.

Benigyo struck, spinning around to lash out with her tail, which was large, strong, and fast enough to catch nearly everyone; only Erika, Erio, and Sapphire Miracle dodged the attack and avoided being flung back. Erio moved in, striking with a steady barrage of slashes and thrusts with Strada's tip, sparks flying as they started wearing through Benigyo's deep-red armor. Annoyed, she tried to crush the boy, but Erika used the _Hiraishin_ Seal she had on him (all of her teammates had volunteered to be 'marked') to jump to his position and then immediately warped herself and him over to Timmy. At this point Sapphire Magical and Felice were back on their feet, and joined Sapphire Miracle in pummeling Benigyo's defenses from multiple angles.

Snarling, Benigyo caught the Cure Trio with a clothesline that sent all three of them hurtling over to the city, flying in hot pursuit of them. The girls regained control and planted their feet atop a building, and their eyes widened as Benigyo opened her fanged mouth wide and fired a powerful beam of red & black energy at them, sweeping it upwards towards them, obliterating any structures along the way. Cure Felice formed a Pink Tourmaline shield and channeled her power through it, and it deflected the beam right back at Benigyo, who barely got out of the way in time; the blast kept going, dissipating a cloud on its way up into space.

"That accursed goddess' power again…" Benigyo scowled at Felice. "But even you won't be able to stop what's coming. The time of Deusmast's never-ending chaos is nigh, and _all_ shall be consumed by it!"

"You're wrong" Cure Felice brimmed with green-hued power. "No matter what you try, to cannot take away our tomorrow!"

She took off, the Sapphire Cures right behind her, the three of them hammering at Benigyo's guard with renewed purpose. The djinn tried to counterattack, but was then nailed from behind by a Trident Smasher from Laicixa hovering above & behind, blasting Benigyo down to the ground. Taking their chance, the Cures shifted to their Alexandrite Forms and hit Benigyo with a full-force Extreme Rainbow. The other djinn spirits were ejected from her, her giant form being blown away and reverting her to her base state, the purifying Light energies still engulfing her…

A jet-black pillar of roiling Darkness shot down from the black orb in the sky, breaking the girls' finisher attack and saving Benigyo. A spherical mass of pitch-black Darkness hovered about a dozen meters off the ground, and the various bodiless djinn-spirts sprang up and flew into it. Benigyo eagerly followed them, melding into the growing mass of Darkness. The sky overhead darkened further, black clouds slowly swirling above like a black slow-motion hurricane. The mass grew larger, and then began to compress; the heroes knew it wasn't shrinking away, just compressing down, because the dark energy they sensed from it wasn't lessening, but instead becoming tighter and more concentrated, more controlled. They all saw brief images of Labut, Shakince, Oruba, Benigyo, and other djinn flash across the orb's surface, as dull purple lines faintly glowed across the orb's surface in a complex, shifting pattern.

Finally, the orb of Darkness solidified, and then began to crack like an egg. It exploded outwards, a gust of bitter wind carrying the shards of the shell away and nearly bowling over the Cures and Theta Team as the latter caught up. Although the Keyblades and the Emerald had prevented Deusmast from fully manifesting as his true, planet-sized self, he was still able to take the form of a giant humanoid figure around 100 feet tall, a shadowy mass of black and purple with glowing red lines that formed arcane patterns, two glowing red eyes that each had two irises & pupils, disproportionately long arms ending in smashing fists, dull reddish-brown spears of stone sticking up from its shoulders like decoration, and a ghastly glowing-white maw that seemed to have torn itself into being from the thing's 'face'.

"S-So this is… Deusmast…" Cure Magical couldn't help but tremble from the amount of dark power she was sensing from the thing.

Theta Team weren't doing much better; the power level this thing had was _enormous_. Right away those who had Pokémon knew that only Kira would be strong enough to not get steamrolled in a matter of seconds. However, that didn't mean they couldn't get more help… Caro looked to Erika & Mariko, who both nodded. The three girls then focused their energies and wove a quick hand-seal sequence, finishing by slamming their palms to the ground:

" _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_!"

Three Summoning Runes appeared, and three puffs of 'smoke' sprang up. The smoke faded to reveal three Legendary Pokémon, already eyeing Deusmast and sensing his power, his darkness, his nature. Rayquaza growled softly and coiled protectively around the children, Xerneas calmly observed the beast with muscles tensed and ready to move in an instant, and Yveltal glared at the monster. Deusmast turned its gaze to the bird-like entity, and the humans heard an indistinct ghostly noise tinted with Dark magic.

'No' the Concept of Destruction sneered as he spoke telepathically. 'I destroy the old to make way for the new, destroy the stagnant so that things may change and grow. You, however, destroy solely for the sake of destruction, for the chance to cause chaos and suffering. That is something I _will not_ stand for. I will fight in defense of this world. Prepare for oblivion!'

The abominable thing that was Deusmast shuddered and let out a deep, unholy growling sound, and then surged toward the heroes. Kira and Xerneas fired Moonblasts at the thing, but it barely slowed down as it barreled toward them all with ground-shaking steps, forcing everyone to scatter. The monster's huge fist came down right where they'd just been, creating a small crater, and then turned and spat out an explosive blast of Darkness aimed at Cure Felice and Anya. Yveltal fired a Shadow Ball that intercepted the blast, setting it off early, and Laicixa fired a dual last of magic from her Device and her Keyblade, crashing against the giant dark being's chest but not doing very much damage. The monster eyed her Keyblade with palpable hate, but was distracted by Cures Miracle & Magical attacking from the sides, pinning it with punches.

Growling, Deusmast swept his massive arms around, throwing the Cures back, and then fired energy beams at them from his strange eyes. The girls were hit and blasted back, Mariko catching Miracle and Rayquaza catching Magical, while Erio & Timmy released a pack of _Raijū Tsuiga_ at the monster, the lightning hounds spreading out to crash against Deusmast all over, electrical energy briefly stunning the giant. Rayquaza then blasted him with a Dragon Pulse, making Deusmast stagger backwards a couple of steps.

Xerneas' horns glowed as he cast Geomancy, and soon he and all the other heroes were briefly enveloped in shimmering light, their stats being boosted. However, Deusmast was so powerful that it probably wouldn't make too big of a difference, but every little bit helped. Cure Felice slapped the Peridot Linkle Stone into her Flower Echo Wand, conjuring glowing green magic vines to ensnare Deusmast's legs. His toxic dark power began to erode them immediately, but they held him long enough for a pair of Water Sharks from Erika and a Razor Wind from Yveltal to slam into him, knocking him back.

Deusmast snarled, the conjured vines dissolving away from his legs, and then his aura flared as he brought out more power, possible to his maximum. The various heroes blanched as they sensed just how high the dark entity's power level was; a few of them found themselves trembling. After a moment's thought, Xerneas turned to Erika & Mariko.

'I believe that this situation warrants your 'trump card', you two' he told them.

Sharing a look, the two girls nodded. As they got into position, the rest of Theta Team moved to keep Deusmast off them, and the Cures followed their lead. As they heard the girls' long, drawn-out "Fuuuuu…" behind them, Cures Miracle & Magical pressed their attack against Deusmast, shifting to their Topaz Forms and using their golden orbs to _literally_ hammer him with powerful blows. They were blasted back by the monster as Anya's _Flagrantia Rubicans_ and the now-unsealed Friedrich's Blast Flare slammed into its upper body, while Erika & Mariko's "-sion!" was heard from the back row of the battlefield.

" _Haaa!-!_ "

Finally, as Erika & Mariko's fingertips touched, they were enveloped in light-green and pale-pink lights which quickly melded together into pure white, swirling and surging like a cocoon. The energy sphere dissipated to reveal Marika, her aura surging around her like a pure inferno as she focused her intense gaze on Deusmast.

"Let's level the playing field a little" she said in her two components' voices as she called forth the Stroke of Midnight, motes of Light orbiting around it as power was held at the ready.

Mariko took to the air and rushed at Deusmast, slamming into him with a shoulder-charge tackle to the center of the chest that sent the dark giant stumbling back. The monster regained his balance and fired a sweeping dark-red beam of destructive power that Marika dove under, and she returned fire with a powerful _ki_ blast that hit the demonic being in the 'face'. Unfortunately, Deusmast recovered quicker than expected and nailed Marika with a blast of his own, the fused warrior crying out as she was sent flying. After a few seconds she regained control and came back, charging back into the fray.

The three Legendaries rejoined the fight, with the Cure Trio accompanying them. Yveltal was hit by a dark blast from Deusmast, and then hit the chaos-demon with an Oblivion Wing that undid the harm he took. As she flew in, Marika formed a Rasengan and 'skimmed' it along the edge of Yveltal's attack, imbuing the sphere of chakra with the Concept of Destruction's power. She slammed the roiling red & black Rasengan into Deusmast's chest, a spiraling concussive blast grinding into the monster's amorphous body and leeching at his life-force a little. Cures Miracle & Magical switched to their Sapphire Forms and blasted the demon with Sapphire Smartish, but the fiend shrugged off the hit and then lashed out with his huge hands, catching the duo and throwing them at Cure Felice, knocking her out of the air and sending all three girls to be flung away and crash in a heap.

Rayquaza flew in and used Extreme-Speed to batter Deusmast from multiple directions in the span of a couple seconds, and then twisted out of the way as Marika came in with a giant vector fist to the demon's face. The fused warrior then fired a high-power Prism Rain barrage at close range, chipping away at Deusmast's body of shadowy Darkness, causing the monster to let out a pained growl. She was then caught by an optic blast, shoving her back, but the demon's attempt at a follow-up was foiled by Xerneas hitting him in the gut with a Megahorn attack, while Yveltal caught Marika and safely arrested her uncontrolled flight, helping her get right back into the thick of things.

Then, there was a shining light from the rear of the battlefield, catching everyone's attention. They hadn't been paying much attention, so they didn't know exactly what sort of commitment or what-have-you that Mirai, Riko, & Haa-chan had come to, but the final Linkle Spirits had melded with the Rainbow Carriage as the girls stood strong and together. Then, Cure Felice was engulfed in flowing energy, her Alexandrite Form changing to something even more regal-looking, as Mother RaPaPa's power flowed through her. Miracle and Magical, meanwhile, took a familiar pose as, guided by the spirits in the Carriage, they began to perform the Fusion Dance as well.

Seeing this, Deusmast tried to intervene, firing an explosive Dark blast at the trio. Laicixa's Keyblade and Caro's White Dragonfire Sword met the blast, and with a heave the girls managed to redirect the blast upwards, letting it sail off into space. As Miracle & Magical's fingertips touched, they were engulfed in light. When it faded, a single warrior stood beside the goddess-empowered Felice; a witch-hat of pale-pink and sky-blue sat atop her head, long blonde hair with purple bangs, Cure Magical's pink eyes, an orange & black outfit with an Alexandrite Linkle Stone on the chest, a 'Precious Brace' on each wrist, a Linkle Stick in each hand, and an _enormous_ magical power level.

"We won't let you drag our worlds into chaos" she spoke with both Cures' voices. "We'll stop you here!" Goddess-Mode Felice joined in the next part: " _We will defend our tomorrow!-!_ "

They took to the air and charged in, and as they moved the Rainbow Carriage's light shone forth and enveloped Rayquaza, granting him his Mega form. Mega Rayquaza, Marika, and the two super-Cures lead the attack, blasting Deusmast with Dragon Pulse, a _Suiryūdan no Jutsu_ , and an Emerald-empowered Diamond Eternal. The combined barrage slammed into Deusmast, who cried out in an inhumanly deep not-quite-voice as he was blasted back with great force, slamming into the side of a building nearly half a kilometer away.

Roaring in fury, Deusmast rapid-fired two explosive blasts of Darkness at the heroes. Marika sliced one apart with her Keyblade (despite the fact that the blast was much bigger than her, let alone her weapon; Keyblades are odd like that sometimes), while Goddess-Mode Felice formed a Pink Tourmaline shield that bounced the other one right back at Deusmast, who prepared to evade only for Yveltal to pop out through a Phantom Force portal and knock him into the attack's path. The resulting blast did quite a number on the demon, blowing some chunks off him.

A shadowy dark-purple aura raged around Deusmast as his rage reached new heights, and began charging a massive amount of Dark power, putting everything he had into it. In response, Mega Rayquaza began charging a Hyper Beam, Marika pulled her hands back and readied a Kamehameha, and the Rainbow Carriage's magic circle appeared before 'Cure Miraculous Magic' and Goddess-Mode Cure Felice, shimmering power gathering at their call. The earth shook from the gathering powers, the other heroes staring in frightful awe. Finally, Deusmast fired his attack, an enormous black and dark-purple wave/beam of destructive chaotic Darkness. Mega Rayquaza fired his Hyper Beam, Marika her Kamehameha, and…

" _PreCure: ETERNAL RAINBOW!-!-!_ "

In terms of power, Mega-Ray's and Marika's attacks were overshadowed by the brilliant beam of multicolored light fired by the two super-Cures, being drawn in to coil around and reinforce it. The combined attack crashed against Deusmast's incoming blast, shoving against it, being held back only for a moment before harmlessly scattering the evil energies as it pushed through them, heading straight towards its horrified target. Deusmast was completely engulfed, his component djinns' many voices screaming together as the mass of Light rapidly tore him apart, erasing his foul existence and purifying his tainted energies. An enormous explosion of light gave way to an enormous, shimmering rainbow that spanned across the sky over the entire city, its light banishing the mass of Darkness and allowing the sun's rays to shine down once more.

As the echoes of power faded, the hero group gathered together. Rayquaza released the _senjutsu_ energy of his Mega form, and the Rainbow Carriage's light allowed the two fused warriors to de-fuse even though their 30 minutes weren't up, letting Erika & Mariko and Miracle & Magical re-emerge, while Mother RaPaPa's power returned to slumber inside Cure Felice, waiting for the time it may be needed again.

As the three Cures de-transformed, they and Mofurun came together in a group hug, whooping and laughing with joy as they celebrated; at long last, they'd stopped the 'Never-Ending Chaos' and saved both worlds. The three Legendaries smiled and then vanished as they de-summoned, returning to their world. Timmy pulled Erika & Mariko into a hug that their teammates then joined in on, Kira grinning as she joined in as well.

"We did it" Mirai said, elated. "We got through this without losing anything or anyone!"

"Thank goodness the Keyblades and the Emerald joined their powers to keep Deusmast from fully manifesting his body" Laicixa remarked. "I don't want to think about what could've happened otherwise."

"Let's go home and celebrate!" Mofurun suggested. "I'm gonna dance 'til I can't stand up and eat 'til I pass out!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Riko said with a grin.

- _Break_ -

The whole gang met up at the Asahina household, joined by Mirai's family, Riko's family, and the Headmaster & Cassie. The Royal Carriage and its resident spirits chose to act as a magical 'projector' in order to show them the final battle, letting them see the terror of Deusmast and the awesome power of the Cures & their allies. Congratulations were being given all around to the girls and their Realm-hopping allies, and a joyful atmosphere filled the place. In a few days, the Cure group planned to accompany Theta Team to the DDF rendezvous location, to meet other heroes & heroines, including other Cure teams. Mirai could barely contain her excitement over the thought.

Outside the city, Ghirahim sighed as he stood within the repaired shrine. "Well, we managed to cause some ruckus for two of the four new worlds, but came too late to influence things in the other two… Back to base, I suppose."

He snapped his fingers, and vanished in a black diamond-shaped sparkle.

 **-** ** _CHAPTER END_** **-**

Next Time: after a little trouble at home, the hero groups come together, meeting the DDF people waiting for them, and a new threat arises…


	19. DDF 1

**PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** ** _CHAPTER START_** **-**

 **Realm PC-8**

A couple of days after the final battle against Red, the girls – Megumi, Hime, Yuuko, Iona, and Maria (and, in hiding, the fairies Ribbon & Glasan) – were at Yuuko's family's restaurant, joined by Seiji and his little sister, and by Megumi's parents; Blue, Mirage, PhanPhan, ad Kuro were busy with something at the moment. The Cures were preparing to accompany Kuro to meet her allies of the DDF tomorrow, and had already told Megumi & Yuuko's families that they were going to visit Hime's hometown as a cover story.

The atmosphere was light and pleasant, some small talk here & there. Suddenly, though, everyone felt an inexplicable chill in the air. The five Cures and two fairies paled as they realized they were sensing the presence of Darkness, and it was very close by. Before they could think of anything discreet to do, that option was taken away from them. The shadows in the restaurant darkened and seethed, and then began to bulge upwards, taking the form of a pack of six Neoshadows. Circular stable rifts in reality then briefly formed to disgorge a squad of Soldiers with a few Armored Knights.

The whole group, shocked and afraid, congregated together as the Heartless slowly approached from all sides. The Cures looked to each other, realizing they had no other options; after making it all the way through their 'main' quest, they would have to reveal themselves against this group of low-level mooks in order to protect their families. At least there were no other patrons here right now… They stepped forward, to the worried confusion of Megumi & Yuuko's families, and then pulled out their PreChange Mirrors. The civilians were surprised as the five girls were enveloped in swirling magic, and a few seconds emerged as…

"H… Happiness Charge… Pretty Cure…" Seiji's little sister whispered, her eyes as wide as can be, an expression shared by the adults.

A few Neoshadows charged first, one of them leaping at the girls with claws bared. Cure Tender moved and struck the Heartless with a kick so powerful that it was sent hurtling to hit the far wall with a splat, breaking apart into raw Darkness as it fell. Cure Princess then rapid-fired a barrage of blue energy bolts that blasted the other two charging Neoshadows back and also struck some of the other Heartless, destroying a couple of Soldiers. An Armored Knight got in close and swung its blade-arm at Princess' neck, but Cure Honey blocked the blade with her baton and then fired a clover-shaped blast of energy from it that blew the Heartless back and destroyed it.

Cure Fortune formed and flung a few star-shaped shuriken of solidified lavender magic, cutting into a few of the Heartless; one Soldier took a shuriken through its helmet's eye-slot, destroying the dark creature. Cure Lovely went on the attack as well, battering the Heartless with fists & feet wreathed in pink magical energy, and then striking down the remaining Armored Knights with a Lovely Beam. The remaining Heartless rallied and began to rush in from all directions at once…

…and then a spinning Keyblade wreathed in magic flew in, orbiting the Cures in a wide circle, buzz-sawing its way through the remaining Heartless. Kuro leapt in and caught her weapon, dispelling it once she confirmed the threat was over. Relaxing, the five Cures de-transformed, and then Megumi was hit by a tackle-hug from a very, very excited little girl:

" _Ohmigosh Onée-chan is a PreCure you're Cure Lovely I can't believe it the super-awesome leader of the Happiness Charge Cures was you all along you're a superhero you and your friends squashed those shadowy monsters like nothing that was so super-cool I can't believe it this is so cool onée-chan!-!_ "

"The whole time…" Megumi's mother spoke up. "You girls were the legendary local Cure team the whole time…"

"I guess we have some 'splainin to do…" Hime rubbed at the back of her head, a nervous smile on her face.

"You folks might wanna pull up a chair" Kuro sighed. "These girls have pulled off some amazing stuff, and going over it all could take a while, as could explaining who exactly I am, where I came from and who I represent…"

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

 **Realm PC-9**

Cure Twinkle's sparkling heel-drop kick finished off the last Unversed, and she & her teammates turned to look at their still-shocked 'audience' – her mother, Minami's parents & older brother, and Haruka's parents & younger sister.

"O… _Onée-chan_ is… a magical girl…" little Momoka murmured, eyes wide, still in shock, a state shared by her parents.

"The girls who helped defend us and our ship from that monster…" Mr. Kaidou said, still in disbelief of what he'd just seen. "It was Minami and her friends… They've been protecting _everyone_ all this time…"

"Figured this would happen sooner or later" Teana said with a sigh as she arrived on the scene. "Alright, folks, let's find somewhere private and take a seat, this is gonna take a while to explain everything…"

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

 **Realm LN-34**

 **Beacon System, Midchilda, Rocky Badlands; Local Time 7:45PM**

Earlier today, the 'footage' of the adventures on the four recently-discovered PreCure worlds arrived for all to see the developments that took place there – the First Keyblade temporarily lending itself to Ryūko so she could save a friend, the Seekers of Darkness interfering in things, Kuro manifesting a Keyblade _and_ casting Unlimited Blade Works without another UBW-caster's help, Teana capturing a Legendary Pokémon… Now, a sizable group of DDF people waited for the away teams' arrival: Nanoha, Subaru, Illya, Sonic, Marie, and the HeartCatch, Suite, & Smile PreCure teams waiting to meet their new comrades.

Finally, as the setting sun reached the point where half of it was below the horizon, four transportation circles appeared, and flashes of light accompanied the arrival of four groups: the DokiDoki Cures (Mana, Rikka, Alice, Makoto, & Regina), Ai-chan, and the Honnouji Seven Devas (Ryūko, Satsuki, Mako, Jakuzure, Gamagoori, Sanageyama, & Inumuta) (Ira stayed home for now); Kuro and the Happiness Charge Cures (Megumi, Hime, Yuuko, Iona, & Maria) & their fairies; Teana, the Princess Cures (Haruka, Minami, Kirara, & Towa), and Puff, Aroma, & Miss Shamour; and the MahouTsukai Cure trio (Mirai, Riko, & Kotoha), Mofurun, and Theta Team. The two sides quickly moved to meet.

"31 Pretty Cures!" Erika Kurumi (Cure Marine) near-squeed. "This is the awesomest thing ever!"

"I know, right?!" Hime 'Shirayuki' (Cure Princess) replied in an identical tone as the two blue-haired girls pressed palms together. "This is amazing!"

Other meetings went similarly well; Reika, Alice, and Minami were already bonding, Tsubomi and Haruka chatted about their roles as flower-themed Cures, Miyuki and Mana got along perfectly right from the start, Ako and Aguri bonded over being the youngest Cures while Yui and Maria did so over being the oldest, Regina & Ellen & Towa came together over being reformed ex-villains shown the light by the heroines… Meanwhile, Illya was fussing over Kuro, Marie was checking on the Theta kids, Subaru still wouldn't release Teana from a hug yet (though the redhead was not at all unhappy about this), and Nanoha & Sonic simply smiled as they oversaw it all.

"Seems everything's turned out okay" the blue hedgehog remarked. "Despite a few attempts by the bad guys to interfere…"

Nanoha nodded. "I'm worried about this 'Seed of Darkness' trick Xehanort has access to now, however."

"Yeah, that _is_ somethin' to be concerned about. At least we've got a whole bunch of people with purifying magic now…"

The meeting continued peacefully for another 20 minutes or so, friendships and camaraderie already being formed as the various Cure teams and DDF people all got to know each other. There was a joyous and confident atmosphere, the presence of so many mighty heroines making them feel like no force of evil could stand in their way.

Suddenly, a chill in the air was accompanied by the 'feel' of Darkness nearby. Instantly, _everyone_ went on alert, looking all over the place and forming into squad-like groups out of habit. After a moment of still silence, there was a bright red flash that, after a few seconds, faded to reveal at least a dozen Akanbe, a few Zerg-Protoss Hybrids, and a sizable amount of low-level Unversed. A rainbow of lights lit up the dusk battlefield as all 31 Pretty Cures transformed, as well as the Honnouji Seven, Illya & Kuro, Theta's members, Marie, and the three Midchildans.

Sonic made the first move, blitzing in and starting to bulldoze through any Unversed in his sights, cutting down on the cannon fodder's numbers. As the small army of heroines moved to meet the approaching enemies, attacks already being flung at the monsters, Cures Melody and Flora led the charge, the other Cures falling in and following their lead.

A Hybrid Destroyer tried to charge up a psi-blast, but a 'low'-power Divine Buster from Nanoha took its head off. Cure Sunny and Ruby-form Cure Miracle bombarded an Akanbe with crushing fiery blows, weakening it for a Gold Forte Burst to destroy it. A slicing _Schneiden_ wave from Illya chopped off a Hybrid Reaver's arm, and a sonic blast from Nonon's shoulder-mounted cannons shattered its skull. An Akanbe leapt and tried to body-slam Cure Diamond, only to bounce off Cure Fortune's star-shaped shield and then be ensnared & destroyed by Cure Muse's Allegro Halo attack. Teana sliced a deep gash across an Akanbe's front, and Erio stuck Strada's tip in and discharged his Lightning magic, frying the monster from the inside. Cure Lovely used her Passion Dynamite attack to dispatch nearly two-dozen Unversed at once. Subaru brought her supercharged fist down on a Hybrid Reaver's head, burying its face into the dirt, and a swing of Satsuki's Scissor Blade sliced through its exposed neck.

The battle was mostly one-sided, nobody on the good-guy side taking any serious damage as they gradually dealt with the attacking enemies over the next several minutes. The last to fall was an Akanbe frozen solid by Cures Beauty & Diamond and then shattered by a punch from Gamagoori. As silence fell over the battlefield, it was then broken by the sound of clapping.

"As expected of so many PreCures…" a tenor voice said. "That was hardly a warmup for you all, wasn't it?"

Everyone turned to look atop a nearby rock formation, and upon seeing who stood there, grinning down at them all, some of the heroes frowned and tensed, readying for serious battle, while others – especially many of the Cures, and one team of them in particular – felt fright grip them.

"Seven teams of Cures…" Joker looked out over the sizable group with a fanged grin, his mask's eye-holes glowing faintly red. "How _interesting_ …"

"What are you doing here?" Teana growled, brandishing her Mirage Longswords.

"Checking out the newcomers," the harlequin replied, "and testing out my newest weapon."

"No matter what kind of fancy new weapon you've made," Kuro said, "it won't be enough."

"Oh, my dear, you're a bit mistaken. I didn't _make_ it, I _found_ it! I took a jaunt to _his_ home-world," he pointed at Sonic, to the hedgehog's mild surprise, "and found a well-hidden and very powerful artifact. Of course, someone else had found it first, but I feel the good doctor wouldn't have been able to make as good use of it as I could, so I 'liberated' it from his laboratory. And so, now…"

He reached into his coat and pulled out a fist-sized red & purple gem, which began to glow with dark red light. He held it up high, and raw _power_ flowed out from it, the heroes startled by how it accepted and amplified Joker's dark power. Crackles of red lightning raced through clouds overhead, and baleful red light bathed the rocky ground. Even Nanoha found herself tightening her grip on her Device as she felt the chaotic dark power the gem was giving off.

"I shall use it to conquer worlds and subject those who stand against me to a _fate worse than death_! Pierrot and Amon shall be avenged, with interest! Chaos and terror will reign, as I bend reality to my will! Behold the power! _Of the PHANTOM RUBY!-!_ "

 **-** ** _CHAPTER END_** **-**

Sorry for the short chapter, but that last bit just can't _not_ be an end-of-episode scene. The next, final chapter should be longer, since I have planned lots of villainous activity, as well as two new attack debuts for the heroes.


	20. DDF 2

**PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** ** _CHAPTER START_** **-**

 **Realm LN-34**

 **Beacon System, Midchilda, Rocky Badlands**

The sizable group of heroes tensed up as they saw and felt the power radiating from the magenta & black gem Joker was holding aloft.

'The Phantom… Ruby?' Sonic thought. 'I've never heard of that thing before. But it feels like it's _major_ bad news…'

"Quite a curious artifact, this little thing" the evil harlequin said casually, gazing into the gem's baleful radiance. "The strength and versatility of its power depends at least partially upon the strength and willpower of its wielder; the stronger the wielder's will, the more potent the gem's effects they can call forth. Dr. Eggman, the one I took it from, certainly has the will to wield the Phantom Ruby's power quite effectively, but he lacks the knowledge & skill with dark magic that would allow him to access the gem's _full_ potential like I can. Science can only take one so far, after all…

"The Phantom Ruby gives me a few rather potent abilities. It allows me to warp space, overwriting or nullifying gravity, creating pocket dimensions that are inescapable, forging barriers of great durability… It enables me to call forth 'living simulations', virtual people made physical and real, and I can choose whether or not to give these 'Phantom Clones' their originals' memories. And, it enables me to assail others with forged sensory data – sights, sounds, sensations, and the like – that are so 'real' that your bodies are actually affected by it. I can make you experience the sights and pain of being stabbed through the heart, and you actually _will_ keel over dead! And if you're wondering why I'm telling you this, it's because no amount of foreknowledge can protect you from the effect; no matter how much your mind tries to tell your body that the disorientation, the pain and damage aren't real, it won't change a thing! Even the eye powers passed on by the Six-Paths Sage cannot overcome the Phantom Ruby's power to turn virtual pain into real harm & death!"

Teana was quite nervous now. A Lost Logia that let Joker command the fabric of space, create duplicates of warriors living & dead, and blur away the lines between genjutsu and reality? This 'Phantom Ruby' was **_extremely_** dangerous, _especially_ in his hands…

"Of course," Joker continued, "when I went to that world, I didn't just get a new toy." His grin widened. "I also found a _partner_."

A second figure strolled up beside Joker, about half the harlequin's height or so. He appeared to be a Mobian (a catch-all term for the 'animal people' of Sonic's world), tall and slender with black fur, a black tail that started slim but ended in a tuft of bushy white, wearing black & silver boots and gloves, a chest-piece that appeared to contain a duplicate of the Phantom Ruby (less powerful than the original, but still plenty), and his race was concealed by a silver helmet that had a single hole that revealed a glowing red eye, as well as a wild mane of white hair sticking out the back.

"So this is the rabble we're up against?" he spoke, his voice carrying a slight flanging effect.

"I don't think I've seen _you_ around before" Sonic said. "You got a name?"

"My old name means nothing, to me or anyone else. Now, you can call me… 'Infinite'. Joker found me when I was at my lowest, and offered me the means to rise above my old self, become a new force of great and terrible power. I can certainly appreciate the world of chaos and desolation he seeks to bring about, so I've decided to join forces with him. In return, he's granted me the Phantom Ruby's power. I'll use it to crush you and all those who fight beside you, Sonic, and when I finally find the one who humiliated me before I claimed this power… I will make him _beg_ _for death_ …"

Joker chuckled. "All in good time, my friend. For now, let's give them a little… demonstration. Perhaps we'll even kill a few of them, though just striking some fear into their hearts as they realized exactly what they're up against would be enough for tonight, I suppose."

He held the Phantom Ruby high, and the gem flashed as its power was called upon. In flashes of red, several 'Phantom Clones' were forged – Metal Sonic, Chaos (in his 'Zero' form), Kumojaki, Akaoni, Bel, Gametsu, Scaglietti, and finishing with a Phantom Clone of Dune as the heaviest hitter of the group. And of course, they were all then accompanied by a sizable number of Unversed.

"Oh, this just isn't fair…" Cure Sunny murmured, wide-eyed. "It's like _Edo Tensei_ all over again…"

Joker grinned and waved his hand forward, and the lineup of Phantom Clones and accompanying horde of Unversed all leapt down, some charging full-steam ahead and others taking to the air and scattering to either observe or to pick & choose targets from different angles. Nanoha flew up to head off Phantom-Dune, who immediately fired a dark energy blast at her, kicking off a hectic dogfight between the two. Teana & Subaru, meanwhile, quickly got engaged in a 2-on-2 fight against Phantom-Scaglietti and Phantom-Bel, blasts of Darkness energy and of orange & blue _ki_ being exchanged.

As Phantom-Metal Sonic and Phantom-Chaos Zero tried to double-team Sonic, Cure Shade came to his aid, skewering the water-spirit with spears of shadow, forcing it to waste several seconds pulling itself free and reforming. Metal Sonic tried to attack her from the side, only for Sonic to return the favor and send the robo-duplicate tumbling with a haymaker. Phantom-Kumojaki went straight for Cure Marine, but Cure Princess came to her aid, the two blue Cures managing to hold the dark warrior back. Meanwhile, Cure Felice and Cure Beat teamed up against Phantom-Gametsu, and Cures Peace & Rosetta handled Phantom-Akaoni.

Everyone else was stuck handling the mass of Unversed that accompanied the Phantom Ruby Clones. Laicixa, Illya, Erika, and Kuro were leading the pack in terms of kills, their Keyblades letting them carve through the dark creatures with practiced ease. More of the Cures were working together with members of other teams, and it seemed that Cures Melody and Flora were slipping into a shared leadership role amongst the entire seven-team group, helping their fellows coordinate effectively. Cures Sunshine & Fortune were thrashing a squad of Bruisers, Cures Ace & Scarlet were frying a pack of Axeflappers, Cures Muse, Honey, & Blossom were carving through Floods…

Nanoha and Phantom-Dune flitted through the air, firing magic blasts at each other and occasionally coming in close to exchange blows of crushing power and blistering speed. Below, Phantom-Scaglietti waved the arm that was clad in a wicked-looking clawed glove, releasing a slicing wave of Dark power at Teana, who blocked it with a Stage-0 _Susanō_ ribcage shield and retuned fire with a Crossfire Shot barrage. Phantom-Bel formed a shield that stopped the orange mana bolts, but was then sent tumbling by a blow from Subaru that caught him while he was distracted. Caro had 'unsealed' Friedrich, the wyvern sending streams and blasts of flame against larger, tougher Unversed, while Caro & Erio fought together with sword and spear; nearby, Anya and Mariko had teamed up, while Timmy kept Erika & Laicixa covered.

As Sonic and Cure Shade fought together against the Phantom Clones of two of Sonic's old foes, they were caught off-guard as Infinite joined the fray, flinging spears of dark-red energy at them. Pushing the two apart, Infinite and his 'minions' prepared to attack Sonic together… but then, a small black & red object slammed spinning into Phantom-Metal Sonic's Back, knocking the construct forward into Infinite, disrupting them both and distracting Phantom-Chaos. As the newcomer landed nearby, Sonic showed a relieved little grin, while Infinite's lone visible eye trembled and glowed with pure, vicious hate.

" ** _Y_** _ou…_ " the masked villain snarled.

"Heh… I was wondering when you'd decide to get involved with us" Sonic said.

"I've been busy making life difficult for Dr. Eggman," Shadow the Hedgehog replied, "attacking his bases & supply depots. But when I found out that one of the DDF's enemies had a powerful artifact from our world at their disposal, I came as quick as I could. So, what exactly are we dealing with?"

"It's called the Phantom Ruby. I'll give you the details once things aren't quite so hectic around here."

Suddenly, a shadow-barrier from Cure Shade sprang up, protecting the two hedgehog heroes from a glowing-fisted punch from Infinite that made the barrier ripple and warp and almost give way.

"Shadow the Hedgehog…" Infinite growled with a deep, inhuman growl. "I'll make you _suffer_ …"

Although confused for a moment, Shadow's eyes then ran over Infinite's body, his stature, his tail, his coat pattern, and after a few seconds a semi-recent memory came to him, and his eyes widened. "You're the captain of the mercenary band Eggman hired to protect his base in the forest."

"I _was_ " the empowered villain replied. "I'm not that person anymore. I go by 'Infinite' now. And with Joker's guidance and the Phantom Ruby's power, I'm going to bring your world to _ruin_. I will _burn_ everything you hold dear, everything you've sworn to protect…"

"Something tells me you would've done something like that even if Shadow _hadn't_ beaten you in a fight" Sonic said.

"…True enough. But now I'll enjoy it even more than I would have."

Infinite's Phantom Ruby glowed, and Sonic & Shadow found themselves dodging a wave of spears of crimson energy. Meanwhile, Illya & Kuro got some help against a group of Unversed trying to box them in when Qrow Branwen swooped in to aid two of the gifted young girls he'd helped out before, a wide swing of his scythe bisecting four Scrappers. Then, the other ally Shadow had brought along with him made their appearance, Sora adding his Keyblade to the cause, cutting down Unversed and helping against Gametsu.

As the fight rolled on, the Unversed's numbers were quickly dwindling, but the Phantom Clones were holding their own for the most part. Finally, Teana decided it was time to test out her newest technique, and maybe take at least one of her & Subaru's two opponents out of the fight. She fell back a little and formed two Shadow Clones, and Miss Shamour in her humanoid form leapt in to help Subaru against Phantom-Jail and Phantom-Bel, the two of them keeping the enemies back. Teana and her two Shadow Clones began forming, molding, changing, and shaping chakra, a _lot_ of chakra, Fire-type energy rapidly building up around a Rasengan core. The initial _Katon: Rasengan_ was surpassed, more and more energy being gathered and compressed and shaped, spinning faster, a delicate balance of energy growing into something chaotic yet stable. Finally, it had taken shape, four slightly curved thin, flat 'blades' of Fire chakra whirling around a compressed core of energy, the whole high-level construct being wreathed in orange light as Teana applied magic-based telekinesis so she could throw it. Stepping forward, she threw her new creation as she called out:

" _Katon: Rasenshuriken!-!_ "

Subaru and Shamour got out of the way as the whirling disk of orange-yellow flames flew in, right towards Phantom-Scaglietti. The man only had time to murmur "Oh, not _again_ …" before it hit, grinding and tearing and burning into him while pushing him up into the air at an angle. The Fire Release Rasenshuriken detonated into a huge sphere of whirling, spiraling flames, incinerating the rocky soil below the epicenter to create a sizable glassed crater. The enormously powerful flame attack tore and shredded and scorched its victim, Phantom-Scaglietti quickly being cooked black and torn asunder at the same time. When the energies finally dissipated, there was little left but ashes, which quickly disintegrated into motes of deep red light.

"Huh" Teana observed her handiwork. "Did even more damage than I expected…"

Having witnessed the spectacular display of Teana's newest high-level finisher, Nanoha decided it was time to try out the new big trick she'd been working on, too. Phantom-Dune was powerful, enough to match a Super Saiyan blow for blow, so she wasn't exactly doing well right now; her Sage Mode could crush him, but the situation was so chaotic she couldn't get the chance to enter it. The problem was, her newest technique would take a while to ready, too…

'Anyone willing to help me up here?' she sent out telepathically. 'I think I've got something that can put this guy down, but I need someone to cover me while I charge it up!'

Cure Moonlight in her Super Silhouette and Cure Fortune in Innocent Form answered the call, their combined power just barely enough to push Phantom-Dune back. Nanoha, meanwhile, flew higher up and began pulling in raw mana from the natural world around her and cast-off residual mana from all the magic being flung around the battlefield. The glowing pink orb of power that would become a Starlight Breaker began to take shape fairly rapidly, growing and growing by the second. The dusk sky was soon lit up by the charging power, and some of the enemies tried to intervene only to be stopped by Teana and Illya running interference.

Finally, the Starlight Breaker was fully charged, the orb of readied power at least four times as big across as Nanoha was tall. But Nanoha didn't fire it. Instead, she reached out at it with her left hand, extending her chakra and her will into the mass of magical power. The huge orb of power began to spin, slowly compressing as it did, and as it shrank the rate of spin increased accordingly. She formed a Shadow Clone to help, the process streamlining and slightly accelerating. Beams of bright pink light – not power, just light – started to radiate out from the compressing mass' 'poles', spinning through the dusk sky like a lighthouse beacon. Everyone watched in awe as the compression continued, the magic and chakra rotating chaotically within a 'shell' of power.

The process continued, until finally Nanoha was 'holding' a swirling, rotating mass of power about four feet across. It shone brilliantly, like a tiny pink star, and as it rotated at great speed, several times a second, the two bright beams of light from its poles whipped across the sky like a lighthouse in fast-forward, making the mass appear to pulse to those looking at it from the right angle. For such a mighty technique, formed from a Starlight Breaker rotating with such speed and compressed so much, there could be only one name:

" _Pulsar Rasengan!-!_ "

Nanoha flew at Phantom-Dune, though the sheer 'mass' of the Pulsar Rasengan slowed her down a little. This became a moot point, however, when Cure Felice used the Amethyst Linkle Stone to form a portal that Nanoha flew through, depositing her right behind the Phantom Ruby duplicate of the HeartCatch Cures' ultimate foe. Phantom-Dune's eyes widened as he realized he had no room or time to dodge.

As Nanoha slammed the attack into the middle of Phantom-Dune's back, she released it and let it fly forward, pushing Phantom-Dune through the air as it began to grind and 'burn' into him. Finally, it detonated as an enormous spherical explosion of pink power, a mighty blast of wind racing across the battlefield as the light briefly turned night into day. Phantom-Dune was annihilated, his body breaking apart into motes of red light which were quickly swallowed up and destroyed by the all-consuming pink.

As the light and wind gradually died down, Nanoha floated back down to earth, panting softly. Joker clapped twice, and the remaining Phantom-Clones and Infinite returned to his side, some of them grudgingly. All of the Unversed had already been destroyed by now.

"I believe that's enough of a demonstration for today" Joker said. "I'd love to stick around longer, but I'm a busy man with a schedule plotted out, so I'm afraid we must be going now. But don't think you're safe. I'm off to search for more power, more weapons, more templates to create Phantom Clones from, and when we return it will be to end _everything_. …Of course, you've got two other alliances of evil to deal with, so perhaps there won't be quite as many of you next time…"

Joker, Infinite, and the Phantom Ruby clones vanished in swirls of scintillating red light, leaving the battlefield quiet.

"…Two?" Sora asked as he and the other heroes & heroines gathered together. "What does he mean by that? We know Xehanort and Ganondorf have teamed up, but who else?"

As if in response, a pillar of bright green flames around seven feet high suddenly sprang up, startling everyone. The flames faded to reveal a transparent projection of an infamous fae sorceress, tall with pale skin, wearing a black & purple cloak with red underlayer, a helmet/shawl with two ribbed black horns, and wielding a long scepter with a magic-charged gem at the tip.

"Who indeed?" she said with a smirk.

"Maleficent!" Sora growled as he instinctively summoned his Keyblade, even though he knew this was just an astral projection he was facing.

"You look like you've been doing well for yourself, boy. Not many could come back from what Xehanort did to you. Of course, I fear you won't be hale & hearty for much longer…"

"And what makes you say that?" Teana asked, glowering at the figure.

Maleficent's eyes widened slightly. "Ah, the girl whose self-imposed exodus set off the chain of events that led to the multi-Realm alliance. I've heard great things about you."

"Wish I could say the same…"

The evil fairy chuckled. "Yes, I've been rather busy lately, hunting for a certain relic from the time before the Great Keyblade War. As such, I've been unable to spare much attention to the Dimensional Defense Force and its affairs. Now, however, I can at last spare some time to start addressing the little problem you all pose."

"So, you and Pete are gonna try and take us all on, all by yourselves?" Sora asked with a light smirk.

Maleficent's own smirk grew. "Hardly. I've made a few new friends…"

Another pillar of fire sprang up beside Maleficent's projection, revealing the projection of another figure. At the sight of her, Teana and the Princess Cures gasped, Scarlet trembling a little.

"B… But how? We… We _killed_ you…"

"Almost" Dyspear replied. "And by the way, Close survived as well. He found me, and then Maleficent found us. I've decided that perhaps working with a peer for once, instead of just subordinates, might be worth a try. Certainly, the Heartless under her command will be useful in spreading Darkness and despair."

"Of course," a new voice echoed out, "they won't be the only beasts of darkness at our disposal. I'll be bringing _my_ underlings into play as well."

As Maleficent turned her smirking gaze over her shoulder, a third and final figure appeared – a woman wearing a long, flowing black gown with a deep-red mantle; her skin was bone-white, with purplish-black veins spread across the outside of her face, a black diamond-shaped marking on her forehead, and glowing red eyes with black sclera. Seeing her, Qrow went pale.

"She… looks like a Grimm…" Subaru realized, remembering the dark creatures of Team RWBY's homeworld.

"No…" Qrow tried not to shake. " _They_ look like _her_. She's the Queen of the Grimm – Salem!"

"We are the three strongest and most dreaded sorceresses in all the Realms" Maleficent announced. "Alone, we were mighty. Together, we shall be _unstoppable_. The Book of Prophecies, the Four Relics, the Door to Darkness, and Kingdom Hearts itself… _all_ shall belong to us! The Fallen Master and the Harlequin will either join us, or be swept aside!"

"Now then," Salem spoke, "we've got quite a busy schedule to attend to. Lady Dyspear, could I ask to 'borrow' your knight Close to assist in the hunt for the Spring Maiden?"

"Of course" Dyspear nodded. "He'll help you, while Maleficent's lackey Pete helps Stop & Freeze in searching for the Door to Darkness."

Maleficent nodded. "And Salem's underling Dr. Watts shall assist me in following a lead I've discovered regarding the Book of Prophecies." She turned to the hero group. "Savor the peaceful days while you can, children. They will not last much longer…"

The three astral projections vanished in bursts of green embers, leaving a chill in the air.

"Son of a bitch…" Qrow murmured. 'You better hurry up and reincarnate soon, Oz; we're _really_ gonna need your help soon.'

"They're really coming outta the woodwork" Illya remarked. "And, on top of those three groups, we've gotta get ready for our big assault against the Ainsworths soon; Angelica sent me a message not long ago saying that it 'feels' like Julian is preparing something big back on their Earth…"

"What a mess…" Cure Melody sighed. "We'd better batten down the hatches and get ready for all Hell to break loose at any time."

"Which means I've gotta head over to Mt. Olympus" Sora said. "Herc said he was gonna help me train. Hope it'll be enough…"

"We should _all_ probably step up our training" Nanoha said. "Hopefully we'll have a little while to do what preparing we can…"

 **-** ** _BOOK 35 END_** **-**

And that's it for this Book. The next Book, #36, will cover either Kingdom Hearts III or the battle against the Ainsworths, depending on if the latter (currently in the midst of the fight in the manga) finishes before the former is released. …I _might_ , however, try to throw in an original story taking place on the Pokémon world, haven't decided yet.

Until then, this is DKN117, signing off.


End file.
